It is a dozen straight victories for the No. 1 Snow College men's basketball team as they take down North Idaho College 88-81 before earning a convincing 110-82 victory against the No. 16 College of Southern Idaho.
 
The Badgers entered the weekend following a pair of victories on the road. They defeated Scenic West Athletic Conference foe USUE 77-75 before wrapping up their non-conference schedule with a 92-59 victory against Central Wyoming College last weekend.
 
Snow College led wire to wire against the Cardinals and controlled the game off the heels of a hot start. Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) hit a pair of 3-pointers to help the Badgers go on a 10-0 run in the opening minutes to take a 24-10 lead midway through the first half.
 
The Badgers eventually extended the lead to 34-19 before the Cardinals punched back. NIC backed into a zone defense which created some problems for the Badgers offensively. The Cardinals used a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to just six with 3 and a half to play in the opening period.  The Badgers would hold NIC at bay and take a 45-38 lead into the halftime break.
 
Snow College started the second half similarly to the first half. They quickly jumped out to a 14-point lead after 6 points from Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) sandwiched a layup from Trujillo to cap an 8-2 burst.
 
The Badgers maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half and led by as many as 15 midway through the period, but the Cardinals would not go away. A 9-2 run from NIC saw the lead shrink to 6 points.
 
The Cardinals, led by Vaughn Weems, the nation's leading scorer, continued to put pressure on the Badgers. A 3-pointer with just over a minute to play trimmed the Badgers' lead to 83-79. Snow College was able to lock down defensively and force a pair of misses in the final minute while icing the game at the free-throw line to claim the 88-81 victory.
 
Finlinson shined as he matched his career high, finishing with 30 points and 7 rebounds. Trujillo flirted with a double-double as he put in 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Coleman Ford (So./Provo, Utah/Timpview HS) added 17 points while Isaac Garrett (So./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds in the victory.
 
Following the victory, Snow College welcomed the No. 16-ranked Golden Eagles to town for the first time this season. The highly anticipated matchup was controlled from the opening tip as the Badgers never trailed in the 28-point victory.
 
The Badgers scored the first points of the game and never looked back. A 10-10 tie six minutes into action preceded a 14-1 run from the Badgers during which they made three 3-pointers and forced a trio of turnovers to take a 24-11 lead midway through the period.
 
The Golden Eagles would trim the lead to single digits over the next five minutes, but Snow College closed the first half with a flourish.  Over the final five minutes, the Badgers outscored CSI 19-8 while going 7-10 from the field.
 
The Horne Activity Center erupted as Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) stole the ball and threw a pass ahead to Ford who finished the fastbreak with a layup before the buzzer to give the Badgers a 53-33 lead at the half.
 
Snow College maintained the momentum into the second half despite an initial burst from the Golden Eagles. The Badgers used a 9-0 run to take a 72-44 lead with 14 minutes to play. They would eventually extend the lead to as many as 33 midway through the second half.
 
CSI made one final push and trimmed the lead to 20 with under five minutes to play. Snow College made one final statement over the last four minutes and went on a 16-6 run to regain a 30-point advantage before securing the 110-82 victory.
 
Ford had potentially his best game in a Badger uniform as he smashed his previous career high, which was set against NIC two nights earlier, finishing with 25 points on 9-12/5-6 shooting. Finlinson recorded 20 points while Brown Jr. tallied 17 points and 8 assists. Kyle Lemke (Fr./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) matched his career high with 16 points while McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) and Trujillo both finished with 13 points to aid in the victory.
 
With the win, Snow College now improves to 19-1 overall and 5-0 within the SWAC. The Badgers will begin their second time through their conference opponents and welcome USUE to Ephraim Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.