Watching the Chadron State men’s basketball team warm up before Wednesday’s game against USD inside the Dome, I noticed one major thing: that team is short and quick.
Chadron’s tallest player is 6-foot-7, while USD’s starting five went 6-5, 6-6, 6-6, 6-8 and 6-11. Talk about mismatches.
Evidently, the Chadron State speed got to the Coyote men early on, as the Eagles raced out to a 10-2 lead. But oh how quickly things changed…
USD reeled off a 26-0 run en route to a 104-89 win over Chadron State Wednesday night.
In their first two games of the season, the Coyotes have scored 96 and 104 points, thanks mostly to a deep 11-man rotation that has worn down two straight opponents.
“There are quite a few guys who could score 20 points in a game, so you never really know who will step up,” said USD junior guard Dylan Grimsley, who led the team with 27 points.
In all, USD had five players in double figures (Grimsley 27, Dustin Little 16, Steve Smith 12, Jesse Becker 12 and Nick Morrell 10). For the game, the Coyotes shot 59 percent from the field (37-of-63) and recorded 12 blocks - six by Cain.
“It’s going to be good balance for us all season,” USD coach Dave Boots said. ” We won’t have guys taking a lot of shots, it’ll be more spread out. Just look at tonight’s game; Dylan led us with 14 shots.
“That’s our balance. All of our guys can score.”
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For sake of comparison, let’s look at Chadron’s game against Augustana from Tuesday night and compare that to Wednesday’s game with USD:
Tuesday: Chadron scored 91 points in a road loss. In that game, its opponent went on a 20-0 run.
Wednesday: Chadron scored 89 points in a road loss. In that game, its opponent went on a 26-0 run.
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The 104 points scored by USD marked the first time it has topped the century mark in a game since Dec. 29, 2005. In that game, USD defeated Minnesota-Crookston 100-64.
“Even with 20 turnovers, we still put up 104 points, which is a great sign,” Boots said. “We had a lot of positives, but we certainly have some things to work on in practice.”
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This weekend, the Coyote men’s basketball team will play three games in three days. Friday, USD takes on Truman State. Saturday, Nebraska-Kearney, and Sunday, William Penn.
Check back with this blog for updates and analysis following those games.
- - Jeremy Hoeck
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