The Snow College men's basketball team defeated North Idaho College 77-75 Wednesday to begin Scenic West Athletic Conference play.  Coleman Ford hit the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to down the Cardinals.
 
The Badgers entered the matchup following their final game of non-conference play.  They defeated Jump Start Academy 121-87 to finish their non-conference slate of games with a 15-1 overall record.
 
NIC has returned to the SWAC after being a member of the Northwest Athletic Conference for the past seven seasons.  The Cardinals entered play Wednesday with a 12-4 record and sported a 6-1 mark in home games.
 
The Cardinals jumped out to an 11-4 lead within the first four minutes.  The seven-point advantage would be the largest for NIC throughout the game.  The Badgers continued to trail for much of the first half before leveling the score at 27 apiece with seven minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
 
Snow College used a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the game.  The Badgers kept the momentum through the final minutes of the first half and would eventually take a 40-36 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Badgers continued to add to their lead to begin the second half.  They stretched the advantage to 10 points within the first four minutes.  The Cardinals responded and cut the lead down to just one less than two minutes later. 
 
Snow College maintained the edge through the middle minutes of the second half before NIC regained the lead for the first time in nearly 20 minutes of game action.  What's more, there were 10 lead changes in the final eight minutes of the game. 
 
Both teams led by at least four points in the final three minutes, but both also used 5-0 runs to regain the lead. The Cardinals' 5-0 run culminated with just 10 seconds remaining.  NIC forward Jalen Skalskiy drove to the basket, scored, and drew a foul sending him to the free-throw line with the game tied at 74.  
 
Skalskiy made the free throw giving the Cardinals a one-point lead.  Snow College inbounded the ball to Colin Christensen who drove the ball up the floor.  Christensen drove the lane and eventually found Coleman Ford in the right corner.  Ford's 3-pointer found the bottom of the net to give the Badgers a 77-75 lead with under two seconds to go.  The Cardinals were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds, and the Badgers earned the two-point victory.
 
It was a balanced scoring sheet that saw five Badgers score in double figures. Isaac Finlinson and Ford led the charge each scoring 13 points.  Max Triplett recorded a double-double finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Dylan Jones and Gaige Savage each poured in 12 in the victory.
 
The Badgers will stay in the Gem State and take on the College of Southern Idaho.  This game will be a rematch of the first round of the Region 18 Tournament from last season that saw the Badgers upend the undefeated No. 1 Golden Eagles.  The rematch will take place Saturday at 3:00 p.m. inside CSI Gymnasium in Twin Falls, Idaho.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.