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Box Score 2 EPHRAIM – The Snow College men's basketball team closed out its regular season with home losses to its Idaho conference foes, finishing the regular season with seven losses in its last eight games. On Thursday the North Idaho College Cardinals (NIC) outscored Snow 76-65 and on Saturday it was the fifth-ranked College of Southern Idaho (CSI) taking an 84-79 overtime win after it looked like the Badgers would put the game away in regulation.
On Thursday Snow could manage only 31 percent shooting from the floor (21 of 67 field goals) while NIC shot 46 percent (27 for 59). The Cardinals were just as good from 3-point range, 11 for 24 (46 percent), with Snow hitting only eight of 30 attempts on treys in the game (27 percent).
Sophomore guard
Gentrey Thomas scored a game-high 27 points for Snow including five for 11 from long range and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Walter Wright was the only other Badger in double figures, scoring 12 and pulling down eight rebounds.
Larenz Stalcup also had eight rebounds for Snow including six on the offensive end. Jamaal Robateau led NIC with 21 points.
Saturday night's game was a physical battle from beginning to end with hard-nosed play on both ends of the floor. CSI earned its biggest lead of the night at halftime, taking a 40-26 advantage into the locker room. The Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half (18 for 34) and was four for 10 from 3-point range. Meanwhile the Badgers were 10 for 24 (42 percent) before the break, but the conference leading 3-point shooting team was scoreless from behind the arc, missing on all seven 3-pointers they put up.
After scoring only four points in the first half,
Gentrey Thomas found his range after the break and scored 22 to finish with a game-high 26 points. Snow pulled even at 51 apiece midway through the second half on a layup by Thomas and took the lead at the 7:30 mark on a 3-pointer by Wright.
The Badgers built a lead of 10 points with three minutes left in the game, but CSI scored the last 10 points of regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 69. The Eagles outscored Snow 15-10 in the overtime period to clinch the 84-79 win.
Thomas grabbed six rebounds to go along with his 26 points for the Badgers while handing out three assists and recording six steals. Wright finished with 13 points and six assists, and
Marcus Bryce added 12 points for Snow. Stalcup scored nine points and pulled down nine rebounds. Fredrick Edmond led CSI with 22 points.
CSI and Salt Lake Community College, both with league records of 13-2, will be the top two seeds and have first-round byes in the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament which opens on Thursday in Price. Snow (6-9) will be the fourth seed and will play 2-13 Colorado Northwestern, tipping off in the opening round at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will take on CSI at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. NIC (9-6) is seeded third and will play sixth seeded USU-Eastern (2-13). The winner of Saturday's championship game will receive a berth in the NJCAA national championship tournament which opens in Hutchinson, Kan., on March 16.
