The Snow College men's basketball team collected two more victories over the weekend. The Badgers defeated Utah State University Eastern 77-75 before earning a 92-59 victory against Central Wyoming College.
 
Snow College entered the weekend matchups following a pair of victories to begin Scenic West Athletic Conference play. The Badgers defeated No. 4 Salt Lake Community College and Colorado Northwestern Community College.
 
The Badgers got off to a slow start Thursday against the Eagles. They found themselves trailing 12-8 just four minutes into action. The Eagles were torching the nets in the opening 10 minutes of action. They went 9-11 from the field including a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc to take a 22-13 lead midway through the period.
 
Snow College responded and began to find the bottom of the net. The Badgers went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 29-26 lead. They would end up taking a 37-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
It was the Badgers who got out to the hot start to begin the second half. Over the first eight minutes of action, they shot 8-14 from the field and 3-7 from deep during the midst of a 19-9 run, which extended the lead to 56-42. 
 
Snow College would eventually lead 71-56 with six minutes to play but the Eagles would not go away.  An 11-0 run over a four-minute stretch saw USUE trim the lead to 71-67 with 1:47 to play. A pair of broken plays allowed the Badgers to score at the rim and they led 77-71 with 18 seconds to play.
 
Two free throws from the Eagles and a turnover from the Badgers led to an open layup for USUE making the score 77-75 with four seconds to play. USUE fouled on the ensuing possession, but the first free throw of a 1-and-1 missed, giving the Eagles a chance to win. Their 3-pointer at the buzzer found only the backboard and Snow College held on to the 2-point victory.
 
Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) led the Badgers in scoring with 15 points on 4-8 shooting from the field. Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds while Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) added 14 points and 4 steals in the victory.
 
Following the victory, the Badgers headed to Riverton, Wyoming, to take on the Rustlers in their final non-conference tune up of the season. Snow College has played CWC twice so far this season winning both matchups by a combined 114 points.
 
Saturday's matchup would see a similar result despite seeing a much tighter game in the first half. The Rustlers jumped out to a 12-9 lead five minutes into the first period. The Badgers would eventually find their rhythm and take a 43-32 lead with 90 seconds left in the first half.  They led 45-37 at the break.
The second half saw more of the same. The Badgers caught fire from beyond the arc going 10-15 in the final 20 minutes. In total, Snow College made 17 3-pointers on 31 attempts, which is the most triples they've made in a game this season.
 
The Badgers faced little resistance on the offensive end as they shot 60 percent from the field in the second half. They cruised to the 92-59 victory to improve to 17-1 overall.
 
Five Badgers scored in double figures, led by Finlinson, who finished with 23 points on 7-10/5-7 shooting. Trujillo poured in 16 points, while Brown Junior recorded 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Kyle Lemke (Fr./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) added 11 points in the win.
 
Snow College, which remains atop the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Rankings, is off to its best start to a season in more than 15 years. The Badgers will continue SWAC play this weekend as they host North Idaho College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before hosting No. 16 College of Southern Idaho Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Both matches will take place inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.