GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado whittled down a late 13-point deficit to just four with three minutes remaining Friday night, but visiting Chadron State scored nine of the last 11 points of the game to escape Paul Wright Gymnasium with an 81-70 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball victory.

Avery Rembao knocked down 33 points – the second-most points in his career – including a 5-for-6 night from behind the arc in the Mountaineers' losing effort.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Chadron State def. Western Colorado, 81-70
Records: Western 2-5 (0-3 RMAC), Chadron State (6-4 (3-1)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Pace. And athletic play across all 40 minutes. Western led at 3-2, but Chadron took over the pace and rushed out to a nine-point advantage at 16-7.
• The Eagles would stretch the lead to 10, at 25-15, but Western chopped away at the deficit to pull even at 25-25, kickstarting the rally with a Kade Juelfs layup.
• A defensive rebound by Juelfs on the ensuing Chadron possession turned into a fast break dunk from Rembao to trim the Eagles' lead to six. Rembao then knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to halve that deficit, though Chadron would stretch the gap to five again.
• A trey from Juelfs drew Western with two, 29-27 and a team defensive rebound evolved into a back-door Rembao layup that tied the game at 29. However, the Eagles would respond with a 10-0 run before eventually toting a 43-33 lead into the halftime break.
• Second-half action followed much of the same path: fast-paced action; Western drawing close – pulling to within a basket at 46-44 – then Chadron responding to build some breathing room.
• The Eagles led by 13 (68-57) with just under six minutes to play, and Western would once more find a way to claw back.
• Fouled on a 3-point attempt, Robel Desta dropped in all three free throws to inch the Mountaineers to within a two-possession game, 72-68, with three minutes to play.
• That proved to be the final rally for Western, though, as Chadron pulled away down the stretch, hitting four of six free throws to ice the win.

DATA POINTS

• Rembao's game-high 33 points ends up second only to a 34-point night last season. His five 3-pointers, though, were a single-game career best.
• Desta reached double-figures for Western, too, finishing with 11 including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
• Chadron pushed four players into double-digits, led by Josh Robinson's 21 points.
• The Eagles owned the advantage off the glass, finishing with a 43-31 rebounding advantage. And their 46-32 gap from points in the paint  also proved to be a decisive factor.
• The torrid pace in the first half when Chadron hit 50 percent of its shots, including 5-of-10 from long range, and Western was hitting 44%, didn't last into the second half. Neither team took an ice bath, though – the Eagles hit 44% and the Mountaineers 35% over the final 20 minutes.
• Desta finished two boards short of a double-double, leading Western with eight rebounds.

UP NEXT
Western squares off with visiting Colorado Christian University in an RMAC matchup in Paul Wright Gym on Saturday at 7 p.m.