Chadron State
- Feb 27, 2020
- 9 min read
Chadron State Eagles (4-22, 3-17) vs. New Mexico Highlands Cowboys (16-9, 11-9)
Saturday, February 22, 2020 @ 7:30 PM MST
Chicoine Center
Chadron, NE
THE SCHOOL
Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska. Founded in 1911, CSC has an enrollment of 2,461 students and an endowment of $19.5 million. Chadron State is the only four-year college in western Nebraska.
The Eagles compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in NCAA Division II. Here's a fun fact I learned the other day: the Alabama Crimson Tide football program has never had a former player score a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Yes, Bart Starr and Joe Namath threw touchdown passes in Super Bowls I, II, and III, but the NFL's individual scoring rules assign all points to their receivers; only the player with the ball in his hands while crossing the goal line is credited with the points, per the NFL's scoring rules. Tony Nathan, Shaun Alexander, Julio Jones, and several other Alabama alumni were vital pieces on Super Bowl-contending teams. None of them scored. Chadron State College, on the other hand, has had two former players score in the Super Bowl. Don Beebe caught touchdowns in Super Bowls XXVI and XXVII for the Buffalo Bills and Danny Woodhead caught a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI for the New England Patriots. As of this season, Alabama has produced 350 all-time NFL players. Chadron State has 6. Sports are silly. (Thanks to bannersociety.com for this diversion.)
New Mexico Highlands University is a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Cowboys also compete in the RMAC.
THE TOWN
This is where I live:
Every basketball arena I've visited so far can fit in this box:
This is where Chadron is:
Let's see that again:
So I took a trip.
On Friday evening, Allison and I left Lincoln and headed west. I'd had this game plotted on my schedule for a while because I thought the Chadron game would be a great way to end the project. However, I was aware that inaccessible weather is part of life for Nebraska Februarys. A snowstorm this time of year is not out of the question, particularly in the western half of the state. And even if it's not snowing on my way there, the way to Chadron requires a ride on some small, lightly traveled roads that could become dangerous with residual snow or ice. Fortunately, the weather was near perfect. The forecast called for sunny skies and highs in the low-fifties for the duration of our trip. I could not have hoped for better conditions.
We got a hotel in North Platte, which required driving west on I-80 for three and a half hours. It is near the midpoint between Lincoln and Chadron. North Platte has a population of just under 25,000, making it Nebraska's eighth-largest city. North Platte is know for a couple things: 1) it was once the far western stop of the Union Pacific Railway and 2) Buffalo Bill Cody owned a ranch there. Buffalo Bill's ranch has been turned into a state park, but much of it was closed for the season so I didn't visit.
Before leaving North Platte, one should make sure they have a full tank of gas. In the western part of Nebraska, there is only one town with more than 10,000 people (and that's Scottsbluff, which was not along my route). Everything out there is really spread out. Allison and I got off I-80, got onto State Highway 2, and slowly left civilization.
That said, western Nebraska is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. Once you get off the Interstate, you leave flat cornfields and enter the Sandhills. I expected the topography to change, but I didn't really expect this. Present-day western Nebraska was a desert with active sand dunes as little as 1,000 years ago. As the climate cooled over time, the sand dunes stabilized into hilly grassland characterized by tall bluffs and amber-colored scenery. The highway takes you on top of hills and through valleys for a pretty mesmerizing experience. Because of the sandy soil, farming is impossible. Instead, cattle ranches cover the landscape; you can't drive too many miles without seeing a different herd of cattle. I tried to take some pictures of the landscape, but my phone's camera couldn't detail the expansiveness of the Sandhills. The photo I attached was the best one I got and it's only so-so. To really see western Nebraska, you need to view it for yourself. Or at least know someone with a better camera.
We had some extra time so we took a little bit of a detour to see Chimney Rock. As you can see, Chimney Rock is a 286-foot geological formation that points upward. It was used as a prominent checkpoint on the Oregon Trail. Unfortunately, the information center was closed for repairs so I wasn't able to find out more about the Rock. I also wasn't allowed to get very close. But it was cool to see, especially given its history as a pioneer landmark, and well worth my time.
After visiting the rock, we went up Highway 385 toward the town of Alliance. Highway 385 is known as the "Gold Rush Byway" because it was used to transport gold found in the Black Hills in the 1870s.
We stopped in Alliance for a few reasons. First, because it was about two-thirds of the way between North Platte and Chadron, so it seemed like a good time to take a break. Second, it had the Knight Museum, which is a local museum showcasing artifacts from Native American tribes that once inhabited the area (primarily the Lakota people), white settlers who came after the Homestead Act of 1862, and the early days of the town. I was really impressed with the Knight Museum, and I spent about an hour there. But the primary reason for stopping in Alliance was Carhenge:
Carhenge is a nearly to-scale replica of Stonehenge, located on the fringe of town. It just has cars instead of rocks. It was built by Jim Reinders, a local artist who once lived in England, in 1987. It took six days for Jim and his friends to place all the cars in the right position, and they dedicated it on the summer solstice of that year. Apparently, Reinders constructed Carhenge partly as a memorial to his father and partly as a way to get Alliance, Nebraska on the map. And you know what - his plan worked. It got me there. It's delightfully weird and I'm glad I took advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Carhenge. Carhenge pushes the boundary of what's art and what's a joke. Maybe it can be both.
After Carhenge, it was finally time to go to Chadron. I went north on the Gold Rush Byway for nearly an hour. I passed through the Nebraska National Forest, which is beautiful but I still didn't get a good picture. After crossing almost the entire state, I was now in Chadron. We checked in to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, got a bite to eat, and went to the game.
Chadron is a small, unassuming town in the middle of nowhere. It has a little over 5,000 residents and it's the only settlement in Dawes County with more than 1,000 people. The major stores in town seemed to be a Walmart, a Bomgaars (which is a ranch supply and western wear store) and - for some reason - a stand-alone Maurice's. You know, the women's clothing store that I've only ever seen in malls. Anyway, Chadron's a great place if you want to hike or fish in the national forest, and I bet most visitors are there for that. The last addition to my ongoing map looks like this:
The Eagles play in the Chicoine Center. It's obvious that the Chicoine Center has been updated within the last few years. The place feels big and open. You walk in through large double doors with the ticket office on your left. You walk past that to an open space with offices and stairs to the rec center on your left and the gym in front of you. The gym is down a level from the rest of the center and the fans sit in a horseshoe-shaped setup. The Chicoine Center is quite nice and it's my favorite of the three NCAA Division II gyms I've visited.
I'll talk about the game itself in a moment. Moving forward, Allison and I left pretty early the next morning and went straight back to Lincoln. We exited Chadron at about 8 AM Mountain Time and took a slightly different route back. Instead of spending most our time on Highway 385 and I-80, we went on Highway 2 for 276 straight miles before getting on I-80 in Grand Island. Highway 2 was nothing but cattle ranches and scattered villages of 50-500 people for many hours, and it included a stop for lunch in Broken Bow. After getting on the Interstate, we arrived in Lincoln right at 5 PM Central Time. I was tired.
THE GAME
Tickets were $8 and I got there in time to see the second half of the women's game and the entire men's game. Attendance was posted as 577, and there were a good amount of students, particularly during the men's game. I did not spy many (if any) New Mexico Highlands fans, but considering their drive from Las Vegas, New Mexico was even further than mine, it's understandable.
I sat in the corner, and while I usually try to sit near the middle, I actually really liked it here because I was directly behind the New Mexico Highlands athletic trainer. I don't think I had ever appreciated just how long it takes to tape ankles for an entire basketball team. At one point, I noticed a guy sitting on the table who seemed rather tall. I looked at my roster - the guy was 7'3"! Patrik Boloz, #25, is a senior from Slovakia who somehow wound up at NMHU. I'm pretty sure he's the tallest player I've seen this season. Unfortunately, he only played a few minutes and all he did was pick up a few fouls.
Chadron State's women's team is a disappointing 4-16 in conference play, but New Mexico Highlands is a worse 0-20. Despite this, the Cowgirls led 40-32 at halftime. Chadron State was able to come back, though, behind a stellar effort behind #1, Taryn Foxen. Foxen scored 31 points, was 5 of 9 from three, and had 9 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds. She kept hitting big shots and Chadron led by 4 with 36 seconds left. At this point New Mexico Highlands seemingly gave up. They didn't intentionally foul and they didn't try to score quickly, and they totally let this one get away from them. It was flabbergasting to see them have no strategy in the last half-minute. Chadron State's women's team started the doubleheader with a 72-66 victory.
The men's game started fast for New Mexico Highlands. They went on a quick 12-3 run and they were way more physical than Chadron State. The Eagles finally realized this and stopped trying to go inside on offense. They hit three-point shots on three straight possessions and suddenly tied the game at 12. They kept it close and with 12:10 remaining, Chadron State took their first lead, 20-19. NMHU regained their momentum, however, and took a double-digit advantage, 42-30, with 4:30 left in the first half. Chadron couldn't close the half well, and New Mexico Highlands went into halftime with a 54-37 lead. Despite the team's fall at the end of the first half, Chadron State's #14, Brian Flores-Rodriguez, impressed. He had 16 first half points, including 3 made three-pointers.
At halftime, Chadron State's drumline performed. They were good. There's not much to say about it.
The second half continued in the same manner as the first half ended. New Mexico Highlands hit a three 30 seconds in to take a twenty-point lead. They did not relinquish it. With the game getting out of hand, I started to notice individual performances a little more. I noticed that NMHU's #0, Raquan Mitchell was way more talented than anyone else on the court. I looked at my roster, and noticed he used to play at Colorado State. A quick internet search told me that he was a three star recruit coming out of high school. This guy was so much better than everyone else because he was a D-I player playing in a D-II game. Mitchell ended the game with 28 points (11-12 FG, 5-6 3PT), 9 assists, and 7 rebounds. With 4:15 left, New Mexico Highlands went up by more than 30 (93-61) and they emptied the bench. Chadron State's #1, Michael Sparks, went on a late 12-3 run all by himself, and my final game ended in blowout fashion, 96-76.
Final: New Mexico Highlands 96, Chadron State 76
I would like to offer a few thank-yous here at the end.
First, thank you to Allison Mollenkamp for not telling me I'm nuts when I told her I was going to try to see every college basketball team in Nebraska. Not only did she not laugh at me, she even went with me to several games. I appreciate it.
Second, thank you to my 2004 Mazda 3. Per my simple addition, I drove 2,427.4 miles traveling to and from basketball arenas (and about one-third of that was just Chadron). My car didn't do anything to deserve that, but I am so glad it didn't give me trouble any of the many times I was in the middle of long, lonely roads.
And lastly, I would like to thank the people who read these. I didn't do this with the expectation of an audience. In fact, I debated with myself over whether to show my write-ups to anyone at all. But I'm glad I did. It's been good to hear positive remarks and feedback about my writing. Thank you.
I don't think I have any big realizations about life or anything. This has been one of my favorite things I've done in a long time. I saw a lot of basketball, got to visit a whole bunch of new places, and found a way to keep up with my writing. It's been a blast, and I hope to do something similar to it before long. Plus, this may not be the final final post. Omaha is hosting some NCAA Tournament 1st & 2nd round games. If I can swing a ticket to that, I may do a short write-up. But for now, my project is complete.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.
- Will
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