The Snow College men's basketball team began their season with a pair of victories against Harcum College and Western Nebraska Community College. The Badgers beat the Bears 89-65 followed by a 112-67 victory against the Cougars.
Snow College started their regular season at home for the third consecutive year. Since the 2011-12 season, the Badgers are a combined 11-2 in season openers. Friday's matchup with Harcum was the first meeting between the two teams in program history.
The Badgers held a lead in the early minutes against the Bears. Each of the Badgers' first 11 points came from inside the paint or at the free-throw line. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Harcum gave them a 6-point lead midway through the opening half.
The game teeter-tottered until
Chance Trujillo and
Isaac Finlinson each buried a triple to give the Badgers the lead with five minutes to play in the half. The Badgers would not relinquish the lead again throughout the game. Snow College led by as many as 6 in the opening 20 minutes before taking a 41-38 lead into the halftime break.
The Bears were able to trim the lead to just 1 a few minutes into the second half. Following Harcum's spark, Snow College began to separate. The Badgers went on a 17-1 run fueled by 9 points from Finlinson to give the Badgers a 63-46 advantage.
Snow College used another big run later in the half, this time a 12-0 burst to increase the lead to 25 points. The Badgers would lead by as many as 27 before cruising to an 89-65 victory.
Finlinson had a career-high 30 points on 8-15 shooting from the field. He was 12-15 from the free-throw line, more than doubling his previous career high in attempts in a game. Finlinson added 10 rebounds in the win.
Two other Badgers scored in double figures including
Isaac Garrett who recorded 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 7-9 shooting.
Mark Brown Jr. poured in 11 points and grabbed 4 steals to aid in the victory.
Snow College had a quick turnaround and took on WNCC the following afternoon. The Badgers would lead wire-to-wire en route to a 112-67 victory over the Cougars. They jumped out to an early 10-point lead just six minutes into action.
A quick 7-point burst saw the Badgers lead 29-12 midway through the first half. Snow College continued to maintain the momentum and eventually led by as many as 21 before a trio of free throws from Finlinson gave the Badgers a 53-33 lead at halftime.
Snow College needed just 4 and a half minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 30. The Badgers would eventually lead by as many as 48 points before claiming a convincing 112-67 victory over the Cougars.
Finlinson once again led all scorers as he finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. His performance over the weekend was good enough to earn the Scenic West Athletic Conference Player of the Week award.
McCaden Adams had 24 points and 9 rebounds in his first start as a Badger. Garrett once again stuffed the stat sheet finishing with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Brown Jr. added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while
Coleman Ford chipped in 13 points and 7 assists in the win.
Snow College will now head to Arizona for a series of four games beginning with a standalone game against Central Arizona College Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in Coolidge. The Badgers will then head to Thatcher to participate in the Region 1/Region 18 showdown, where they face Arizona Western College and Eastern Arizona College Friday and Saturday.
They'll wrap up the road trip with a game against Yavapai College Monday at 7:00 p.m. inside Walraven Gym. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
