GUNNISON – Western State Colorado University men's basketball guards Brady Subart and Ben Beauchamp combined for 51 points in an 89-71 win against Chadron State College Saturday evening in Paul Wright Gymnasium.
 
Flying high from the start, Western built a lead and extended it to as much as 20 throughout the game. The two guards had 31 of the team's 43 first half points, then went on to finish the game with 17 combined field goals, 10 of which came from beyond the arc. Subart had a career-high 27 points, shooting seven of 10 from beyond the arc and scoring all his points without taking a trip to the foul line. Beauchamp was seven of 14 from the field, but made it to the foul line eight times, converting seven shots.
 
The two guards were joined by a huge game from Collin Smith. In just his second start this season, Smith had eight first half rebounds, finishing with a dozen and a double-double with 18 points. Smith was a large beneficiary of the foul line, sinking nine shots from the stripe.
 
Also for Western, Will Duggan had eight assists, making his weekend total 18.
 
The Eagles came into the matchup looking to push the ball as fast as possible, but in the end Western benefitted from the speed of the game. The Mountaineers had 16 fast break points to the Eagles' seven. They also scored 22 points off of turnovers, a category their opponents only earned seven points from.
 
Western has become one of the best free throw shooting team in the conference, showing so tonight with a team 84 percent from the line. In 26 trips, the team only missed a combined four foul shots. The Mountaineers are sinking nearly 80 percent of their foul shots in conference play, while their opponents are only converting on two-thirds of their shots.