OPENING TIP
 

• No. 13/16 Snow College will return home after nearly a month of games on the road to take on No. 2 Salt Lake Community College inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.

 

• The Badgers will take on the Bruins Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m.  This is the first of three games the two teams will play against each other this season.

 

• Snow College began Scenic West Athletic Conference play over the weekend in Las Vegas.  The Badgers collected two victories over the College of Southern Nevada winning 86-79 Friday, and 87-78 Saturday.

 

• Following the victories, the Badgers climbed from 16^th in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Rankings to 13^th.  They also moved from 18^th to 16^th in the JUCO Advocate Media Poll.

 

• Sophomore Forward Zach Visentin scored a career-high 28 points in the Badger's 79-86 victory Friday night.  Visentin shot 11-17 from the field and 5-7 from the free-throw line.  He also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and dished out four assists.  The 28-point, 12-rebound performance was the first double-double the Sophomore has recorded in his career.  Visentin has scored in double figures in seven of the Badger's 11 games this season and is currently averaging 11.7 points per game.

 

• The Badger's defense limited the Coyotes to just 5.9 percent on 1-17 shooting from 3-point range in Friday's win.  This marks the lowest 3-point percentage and the fewest made 3's the Badgers have allowed all season.

 

• Snow College was outrebounded in both games over the weekend.  Up to this point in the season, the Badgers had only been outrebounded by an opponent once which came in their 72-66 victory over No. 2 Florida SouthWestern State College Nov. 12.

 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

• The Badgers are one of the top teams in the country at making 3-pointers.  Snow College makes an average of 11.7 3-pointers per game which is the third-best mark in the nation.  The Badgers trail Daytona State by one 3-pointer made per game for second place and trail Western Oklahoma by 3.7 for first place.

 

• Snow College is crashing the glass effectively to start the season.  They rank 8^th in the nation at offensive rebounds per game at 17.0.  They also come in at 14^th overall in total rebounds per game at 46.5.  

 

• The Badgers fall just outside the top 20 in assists per game.  Snow College hands out an average of 19.9 assists per game which slots them at 21^st in the nation.

 

• Snow College has been one of the best teams in the country at defending the 3-point line.  The Badgers are fifth in the country in opponent's 3-point percentage allowing makes on just 24.6 percent of attempts.

 

• The Badgers are still among the nation's best in defensive efficiency.  Snow College is allowing just .82 points per possession defensively which is the sixth-best mark in the country.

 
ABOUT SALT LAKE CC
 

• The Bruins have started the season with a perfect 8-0 overall record.  Because of their hot start, they have moved up from fifth in the national rankings to second trailing only Indian Hills who holds a 13-0 overall record.

 

• SLCC is one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country.  The Bruins are scoring 102.5 points per game which is the third-best mark in the country. 

 

• The Bruins are also scoring effectively as they are connecting on 53.9 percent of their field goal attempts which slots them at fifth in the country.

 

• SLCC has five players on their team who average double figures in scoring per game led by Alejandro Vasquez, who is scoring 18.9 points per game.

 

• Snow College is 8-31 overall against SLCC since January 21, 2012.  The Badgers won three straight games between Jan. 12 and Feb. 16, 2019.  Since then, Snow College has lost 11 of 12 meetings with the Bruins.  The last matchup resulted in a 95-61 defeat in Salt Lake City Feb. 26, 2022.

 

• The Bruins are coming off a 2021-22 season that saw them go 35-2.  They defeated Snow College to win the Region 18 Tournament.  They won their way to the 2021 NJCAA National Championship where they were defeated by Northwest Florida State College 83-7. 

 
LAST TIME OUT
 
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.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME
 

• Control the pace of the game: Averaging nearly 103 points per game, the Bruins like to get a lot of offensive possessions.  The Badgers playing at their own pace and not speeding the game up will be crucial to their success.  If they are able to slow the game down and execute their offense within the halfcourt they will be able to slow down the Bruin's attack.

 

• Force them to make shots from outside:  The Bruins are shooting nearly 54 percent from the field as a team this season, but their percentage drops down when they are forced to shoot from the perimeter.  SLCC connects on 36.4 percent of 3-pointers attempted this season.  While they are fifth in the country at 3-pointers made per game, they also attempt the ninth-most shots from distance in the country.  The Badgers need to be able to play solid team defense inside the perimeter and force the Bruins to beat them from outside.

 
UP NEXT
 

• The Badgers will head back out onto the road and take on Community Christian College in Redlands, California Dec. 10.

 

• The Saints have struggled to begin the season as they sit at 0-9 overall.  This comes on the heels of a 2021-22 season in which they went just 1-25 with their lone win coming against Colorado Northwestern Community College Jan. 21, 2022.  

 

• CCC is allowing opponents to score an average of 119 points per game this season.  They have allowed over 100 points in each of their nine games to start the year.

 

• Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.