GAME NOTES

• The Snow College Badgers will play three games in four days beginning with welcoming back No. 1 College of Southern Idaho for the third and final time this season.

 

• The Badgers will take on the Golden Eagles Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.

 

• Snow College is coming off a thrilling victory against No. 5 Salt Lake Community College last Thursday in Ephraim.  The Badgers outscored the Bruins 43-34 in the second half to claim their second victory over a top-10-ranked team this season.

 

• Chase Potter hit the game-winning free throw with 4.1 seconds remaining to give the Badgers the victory.  A 3-point attempt at the buzzer from SLCC's Hunter Erickson missed, giving Snow College the one-point victory.

 

• Max Triplett recorded a career-high in points scored as he, along with Potter, tied with the team lead in points with 18 on 7-10 shooting.

 

• With their 16^th victory, the Badgers have endured they will finish with a record above .500 for the fifth straight season.  

 

• CSI enters Wednesday's matchup as the only unbeaten team remaining in the nation sporting a perfect 26-0 record and a 14-0 mark within the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

 

• Snow College gave the Golden Eagles a run for their money in Ephraim Feb. 2.  Snow College led CSI at the half but ended up losing 83-78 as the Golden Eagles shot a scorching 75 percent from the field in the second half.

 

• CSI is the ninth-best offensive team in the country averaging 93.5 points per game this season. 

 
LAST TIME OUT
 
March Madness started in February this year for the Snow College men's basketball team as the Badgers defeated No. 5 Salt Lake Community College 84-83 Thursday in Ephraim.  Sophomore guard Chase Potter buried the game-winning free throw with 4.1 seconds left to give the Badgers their second victory over a top-10-ranked opponent this season.
 
The Badgers entered Thursday's showdown with the Bruins following a pair of losses the week before.  Snow College fought valiantly against the No. 1-ranked College of Southern Idaho but lost to the Golden Eagles 83-78 after CSI shot an unworldly 75 percent from the field in the second half to eke out the win. 
 
Snow College turned around and suffered a 75-66 loss to Utah State University Eastern which gave the Eagles the tiebreaker for seeding in the Scenic West Athletic Conference Tournament at the end of the year.
 
Much like the Golden Eagles in the second half last Thursday, SLCC came out firing in the first half.  They opened up an 11-point lead in the first 11 minutes of action thanks to extremely hot shooting.  The Bruins began the game shooting 13-19 from the field including going 9-12 from 3-point range.  SLCC would lead by as many as 13 in the first half. 
 
Snow College used a 10-2 run near the end of the first half to get back within five, but an SLCC 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave the Bruins a 49-41 lead going into the halftime break.  Both teams shot 49 percent from the field in the first half, but SLCC went 10-17 from beyond the arc compared to just 4-12 shooting from distance for the Badgers.
 
The Bruins quickly regained a double-digit lead to begin the second half, but an 8-1 run from the Badgers brought them back within four.  SLCC punched back and used a 10-0 run of its own to capture its largest lead of the game at 65-51.
 
Snow College continued to fight throughout the middle minutes of the half scoring 13 straight points to take its first lead of the game at 74-73.  There would be five lead changes and three ties throughout the final eight minutes of the game as the Bruins and the Badgers battled back and forth.
 
With just over three minutes to play and the game tied at 79, Colin Christensen found Jamir Stephens who took a dribble to his right, shook his defender with a between-the-legs crossover, then hit a step-back 3-pointer near the left wing to give the Badgers a three-point lead.
 
Back-to-back buckets by the Bruins gave them the lead right back at 83-82 with under two minutes to play. Zach Visentin evened the score with a free throw with 1:39 left in regulation, then turned away the Bruin's attack on the ensuing possession with an emphatic block.
 
Two empty possessions from the Badgers sandwiched an SLCC turnover, and the Bruins had the ball with 36 seconds left.  The Badger's defense was able to force a missed 3-pointer when Potter skied for the rebound and pushed the ball in transition.  With the game clock wanning, potter penetrated the key and was fouled.  He would go to the free-throw line to shoot a 1-and-1.  
 
Potter sank the first free throw following an SLCC timeout to give Snow College an 84-83 lead with 4.1 seconds remaining.  Potter missed the second free throw forcing the Bruins to move quickly down the court.  A 25-foot step-back three from SLCC's Hunter Erickson careened off the back of the rim as the horn sounded, and the Badgers held on to the one-point win.
 
After shooting 10-17 from 3-point range in the first half, the Bruins shot just 5-14 in the second half. Conversely, Snow College shot 50 percent from the field including 7-15 from deep in the second half to earn the victory.  
 
Potter led the way for the Badgers as he finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Potter scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half in addition to sinking the game-winning free throw.  Max Triplett also finished with 18 points while Christenson put in 12 points and dished three assists.  Gaige Savage poured in 11 points to aid in the victory.
 
With the victory, the Badgers now sit at 16-10 overall and 7-7 within the SWAC.  They are currently in third place and would face SLCC in the first round of the Region 18 tournament if it started today.