The Snow College men's basketball team earned a pair of victories against the College of Southern Nevada over the weekend in Las Vegas.  The Badgers opened the weekend with an 86-79 victory followed by a win Saturday, 87-78.
 
Snow College entered the weekend having wrapped up its non-conference schedule at the Chapman Automotive Thanksgiving Basketball Classic in Yuma, Arizona.  The Badgers suffered their first loss of the season against Arizona Western Friday, Nov. 25 in a 70-66 defeat.  They would rebound the following day defeating Yavapai College 77-59.
 
The Badgers and Coyotes would be two of four Scenic West Athletic Conference teams to begin conference play over the weekend.  Utah State University Eastern and the College of Southern Idaho would also square off Saturday.  
 
Snow College started quickly in Friday's game jumping out to a 15-9 lead five and a half minutes into action.  The Badgers would open up a 13-point lead midway through the first half before taking a six-point lead into the halftime break. 
 
The second half became the Zach Visentin show.  He scored 10 of the Badger's 16 points during a five-minute stretch midway through the half.  Snow College extended their three-point lead to six points during that stretch.
 
The Coyotes would claw their way back into it near the end of regulation.  CSN went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to just two with under 90 seconds to go, but a Dylan Jones 3-pointer and a Visentin dunk sealed the victory for the Badgers who went on to win 86-79.
 
Visentin led the way for the Badgers scoring a career-high 28 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds – including seven offensive boards.  Hayden Franson just missed a double-double finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds.  Jones put in 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
 
Saturday's matchup followed a similar script for the Badgers.  Snow College started on a 7-0 run to open the game.  The Badgers would take a 22-10 lead midway through the first half, but a 15-1 run from CSN turned the game around and gave the Coyotes a two-point lead.  After a back-and-forth finish to the half, Snow College took a four-point lead into the break.
 
The Badgers went on a 10-3 run to start the second half, but the Coyotes wouldn't go away.  CSN went on a 15-5 run to bring the score to 57-56 with under 10 minutes to go.  Jones came alive for the Badgers and hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch to extend the lead back to 10.
 
Snow College wouldn't let the lead dip below five points after that and would hold on to earn an 87-78 victory.  The Badgers shot 42 percent from 3-point range on 15 made attempts making it the fourth time this season the Badgers have made at least 15 3-pointers.
 
Clayton Southwick led all scorers with 23 points.  He also recorded his second double-double of the season finishing with 11 rebounds.  Jones had 17 points on 4-9 shooting from deep while Jamir Stephens finished with 12 points and four assists.
 
The Badgers converted 20 Coyote turnovers into 25 points while also receiving 32 points from their bench en route to the victory.
 
Snow College will now return home for the first time in nearly a month to take on No. 2 Salt Lake Community College.  The Bruins are an unblemished 8-0 overall this season after securing a pair of victories against Northwest College and Central Wyoming College over the weekend.  
 
The Badgers will host the Bruins Wednesday inside the Horne Activity Center with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.