The Snow College men's basketball team earned a pair of victories at the Aztec Classic over the weekend.  Their victories over Cochise College and Bismarck State College sandwiched their first loss of the season against Pima Community College.
 
The Badgers entered the weekend following a 107-86 victory against Central Wyoming College Dec. 5.  Following the victory, Snow College cracked the top five of the NJCAA Men's Basketball Top 25 and entered the Aztec Classic at No. 5 overall.
 
The Badgers outscored the Apaches by four points in the first half.  Snow College shot the ball well throughout the game finishing just shy of 50 percent from the field.  The Badgers maintained the lead through the end of the second half to earn the 80-76 victory.
 
Four Badgers scored in double figures led by Mark Brown Jr., who had a career-high 18 points on 8-11 shooting.  He also grabbed eight rebounds. Max Triplett added 14 points and five boards while Gaige Savage scored 13 and Jake Howe put in 10 points in the victory.
 
The following day, the Badgers took on PCC, who is the 14^th-ranked team within the NJCAA Division II ranks. The Badgers suffered an 83-79 defeat, their first loss of the season.
 
Snow College struggled to contain the Aztecs throughout the first half.  The Badgers surrendered the most points to an opponent in the first half all season.  The Aztecs scored 53 points in the first 20 minutes and took a 53-31 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Badgers turned things around in the second half and quickly closed the gap.  They found themselves trailing by one point with less than 60 seconds left.  The Badgers had two shots on one possession to take the lead but were unable to score and suffered the 83-79 defeat.
 
Triplett led the Badgers in scoring with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.  Brown Jr. scored 18 points in consecutive games while also securing three steals throughout the contest.
 
Snow College wrapped up the weekend against BSC.  The Badgers got out to a good start and outscored the Mystics 48-31 in the first half.  They continued to shoot the ball well throughout the remainder of the game.  
 
The Badgers shot over 50 percent from the field for the ninth time all season after going 34-64 while connecting on 13 3-pointers, their second-highest total of the season.  They also assisted on 21 of their 34 made shots throughout the game.  They earned the 93-52 victory to improve to 14-1 on the season.
 
Dylan Jones led all scorers with 24 points after shooting 6-13 from beyond the arc.  Howe also made 5 3-pointers en route to scoring a career-high 17 points.  Triplett and Isaac Finlinson each added 10 points and grabbed a total of 15 rebounds in the victory.
 
Snow College will now play its first game in 2024 against Jump Start Academy in Ephraim Thursday.  This will serve as the final non-conference game for the Badgers this season as they begin Scenic West Athletic Conference games Jan. 10.  
 
The Badgers have won both their meetings with the Snow Foxes historically.  They earned a 101-48 victory last season in Ephraim.  The matchup is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.