GAME NOTES:
 

• The Snow College men's basketball team will host a pair of Northwest Athletic Conference teams over the weekend at the Snow College Thanksgiving Classic.  The Badgers will host Treasure Valley Community College Friday at 7:00 p.m. followed by a meeting with Green River College Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Both meetings will be played inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.

 

• The Badgers are coming off a pair of victories at the Snow College Classic where they defeated Casper College 88-74 and Eastern Wyoming College 101-74.  The Badgers have now started the year with a 7-0 record in back-to-back seasons after winning their first seven games to begin the 2022-23 campaign.

 

• Snow College has cracked into the top 10 of the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Poll.  They currently sit at 9^th overall within the rankings after beginning the season with an unblemished 7-0 record.

 

• The Badgers have shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of their seven games this season.  They are currently shooting 53 percent from the field to start the season which slots them at 15^th overall in the nation.

 

• The Badgers have scored 80 points or more in six of their seven games to start the season.  As a team, the Badgers are 23-1 when scoring 80 points or more since Head Coach Andrew May took over the program at the start of the 2022-23 season.

 

• Snow College has also been one of the top teams in the country when it comes to taking care of the basketball.  They are committing 10.1 turnovers per game which slots them at 17^th overall in the nation.

 

• TVCC enters the weekend matchup with a 2-1 overall record within the NWAC.  The Badgers have met the Chukars three times and have won all three meetings.  The two teams last met Nov. 29, 2018, during which the Badgers earned a 90-73 victory.

 

• GRC has started the season with a pair of victories against Peninsula College and Yakima Valley College.  The Badgers and the Gators have also squared off against each other three times.  Snow College is 3-0 against GRC after a 102-79 victory the last time the two teams met Dec. 13, 2019. 

 
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College men's basketball team collected two victories over Casper College and Eastern Wyoming College over the weekend.  The Badgers defeated the Thunderbirds 88-74 before earning a 101-74 victory over the Lancers to culminate the Snow College Classic.
 
Snow College was coming off an impressive victory against Central Wyoming College where the Badgers outscored the Rustlers by 15 points in the second half to claim the 80-68 victory.  The Badgers committed just five turnovers in the victory, their lowest turnover total in a game since they committed four against North Idaho College Feb. 15, 2014.  
 
The Badgers kicked off the Snow College Classic against Casper, a team they were 5-2 against all time.  Things started slowly for the Badgers.  This was coupled with the fact that the Thunderbirds caught fire from the field midway through the first half.  They used an 8-2 burst in less than two minutes to jump out to a 23-17 lead.
 
The Badgers regained the lead using a 10-0 run before Casper scored the next eight points.  The final minutes of the first half see-sawed before Snow College took a 44-41 lead into the halftime break.
 
They opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers to extend the lead to eight points.  The Badgers slowly began to put the clamps on defensively and forced the Thunderbirds into tougher shots.  Casper, who shot 46 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, went just 2-14 from distance in the second half.   The Badgers also held the Thunderbirds to just 31 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
 
Max Triplett led the charge for the Badgers in the second half. He scored 15 of his 21 total points in the second half on 5-6 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe.  
 
The Badgers extended the lead to double figures by the 11-minute mark and never looked back.  They led by as much as 17 points with three minutes remaining in regulation and would go on to win, 88-74.
 
In addition to 21 points, Triplett grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, Dylan Jones had 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists.  Isaac Garrett had 13 points and four blocks while Colin Christenson poured in 10 points in the victory.
 
Following the victory, Snow College turned around to face EWC.  This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.  Jones started things off with a bang for the Badgers hitting back-to-back threes in the first minute of action.
 
The Lancers rallied from there and outscored the Badgers 16-5 over the next five and a half minutes to take a five-point lead.  Snow College responded and went on a 24-5 extended run to give the Badgers a 35-21 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the first half.  
 
The Badgers kept their foot on the accelerator and took a 53-36 lead into the halftime break.  Snow College cruised for most of the second half and held the Lancers to just 39 percent throughout the quarter.  The Badgers would go on to secure the 101-74 win for their seventh victory of the season.
 
Isaac Finlinson led the way for the Badgers scoring a career-high 19 points while adding five rebounds and four assists in the win.  Jones scored 15 points and Max Triplett narrowly missed out on consecutive double-doubles, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds.  Gaius Mewourou added 11 points and five rebounds while Jake Howe scored 10 points to aid in the victory. 
 
UP NEXT: Snow College will wrap up its current seven-game home stand at the Region1/Region 18 Challenge where they will host a pair of Arizona-based teams.  The Badger will first meet up with Eastern Arizona College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and will wrap up the tournament against Arizona Western College Friday also at 7:00 p.m.  Both matches will be played inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.