Mitchell's Career-High 34 Points Not Enough as Rangers Drop High Scoring Affair 86-75 to Chadron State

Denver, Colo.: A career night by junior guard Curtis Mitchell as Regis dug themselves too much of a hole in falling to Chadron State 86-75 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.  Mitchell poured in 34 points including six three pointers.

The two teams combined for 97 points in the first half but unfortunately Chadron State (9-15, 7-10 RMAC) shot 71.4 percent (20-28) from the field en route to the 54-43 halftime lead.  Mitchell single handedly kept the Rangers in the game as he scored 19 of his 34 points in the opening stanza. 

Regis (8-17, 3-14 RMAC) trailed just 37-30 with 7:01 remaining in the first half.  The Eagles then went on an 11-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a commanding 48-30 lead.  Mitchell and sophomore Chris Johansen got the Rangers back in the game before halftime combining for nine of the next 13 points by Regis.

Just when it looked the Rangers were poised to give up a 100 points, they switched to a zone defense that put Chadron State back on their heels.  Trailing 60-46 with 17:21 remaining the Rangers outscored the Eagles 21-5 and took the lead at the 8:04 mark on a Mitchell three-point basket.

Over the next two-plus minutes neither team could buy a field goal and only two free throws by Shaw Buckner tied the game for Chadron State at 67 with 6:59 remaining.  At the 5:50 mark, Chris Randel put the Eagles up to stay starting a 9-0 run with a layup putting the visitors ahead to stay at 76-67 with just 1:45 left in the contest.

Chadron State who was an astounding 24-of-26 from the charity stripe hit their free throws down the stretch and came away with the win, 86-75.

Chadron State ended up shooting 63.8 percent from the field for the game but was forced into 18 turnovers by Regis.  The Rangers were outrebounded by the Eagles 32-21 but 12 of the Rangers rebounds were on the offensive end.

Regis distributed the ball well dishing out 21 assists on 30 made baskets. 

Mitchell's total smashed his old career high of 15 points.  He was 13-of-20 from the field and 6-of-9 from long range.  Johansen was next with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.  He also paced the Rangers with eight rebounds.  Senior Matt Rosinski was held to 12 points below his average with 11 points.  He struggled to a 4-for-19 performance but did have four helpers.

Seniors Bill Brandenburg and Alex Potts chipped in with nine and eight points respectively.

Chadron State was led by Moala Tautuaa's 21 points, while Randel came off the bench to put in 15.

Regis will play their last two games next week with the first against crosstown rival Metro State on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. on the Auraria Campus.

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