GAME NOTES: The No. 1 Snow College men's basketball team will head north to Idaho for the first and only time this season and take on the No. 20 College of Southern Idaho Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before taking on North Idaho College Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
 
The Badgers are riding a 13-game winning streak, the most recent of which coming in a 120-78 victory against Utah State University Eastern. In addition to a season-high 120 points, the Badgers scored 65 second-half points, which is the most they have scored in any half this season.
 
In the victory against the Eagles, Snow College connected on 19 3-pointers, the most they have made in any game this season. This is also the most 3-pointers they have made in a game since making 19 in a 128-55 victory against Community Christian College Feb. 18, 2023.
 
Over their previous four games, the Badgers have made 64 of 74 free throws (.865). They are now the best free throw shooting team in the nation as they shoot an average of 79.2 percent from the charity stripe.
 
The Badgers are also within the top ten in a pair of other shooting categories. Snow College is shooting at a 52.9 percent clip from the field, which is fourth in the nation. The Badgers are also eighth overall in 3-point percentage at 38.8 percent.
 
Snow College handed out a season-high 35 assists in the victory against the Eagles. The Badgers have recorded 20 or more assists in 10 games this season. As a team, the Badgers are averaging 19.8 assists per game which is 16^th in the nation.
 
The Badgers are meeting the Golden Eagles for the second time this season after earning a 110-82 victory Jan. 18. This is the largest margin of victory historically against CSI. The Golden Eagles have won both of their matchups since losing to the Badgers. They earned a 1-point, double-overtime victory against Colorado Northwestern Community College last Saturday.
 
NIC is coming off potentially its best victory of the season after defeating No. 24 Salt Lake Community College 90-68 last weekend. The Cardinals are now 12-10 overall and 2-5 within the Scenic West Athletic Conference. They are home to the nation's leading scorer, Vaughan Weems, who is averaging 28.2 points per game this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT: It's been more than two months since the Badgers did not score more points than their opponent and Thursday night's victory against Utah State University Eastern was no different. The top team in the nation scored a season-high 120 points in a 42-point victory against the Eagles to secure their 13^th straight win.
 
Snow College entered the matchup off the hills of a convincing 110-82 victory against No. 16 College of Southern Idaho last weekend in Ephraim. The Badgers made 15 3-pointers against the Golden Eagles and the hot shooting would continue Thursday against USUE.
 
A layup from Sean Felts (Fr./Draper, Utah/Crimson Cliffs, HS) and a triple from Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) saw that Badgers jump out to a quick lead just 60 seconds into action. A pair of jumpers from Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) sparked a 10-2 run and Snow College led 15-5 with 14 minutes left in the first half.
 
After the Eagles cut the lead down to four, back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) preceded triples from McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) and Coleman Ford (So./Provo, Utah/Timpview HS) and the Badgers doubled up USUE 28-14 midway through the opening period.
 
Finlinson continued the offensive onslaught as he scored eight points on three consecutive possessions before a Kyle Lemke (Fr./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) dunk and a Brown Jr. triple gave the Badgers an 18-point lead.
 
Finlinson could not be stopped in the first half and scored nine more points over a 90 second stretch over the final few minutes of the first half. Over the final six minutes of the opening period, Finlinson outscored the entire Eagles team 16-10. He finished the first half with 24 points on 9-11/5-5 shooting and five assists. Finlinson scored or assisted on 36 of the Badgers' 55 first-half points as Snow College entered intermission leading 55-32.
 
The Badgers torched the nets in the first half, shooting just shy of 65 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers at a 53 percent clip. The cool Ephraim evening couldn't cool down the Badgers as they continued the hot shooting into the second half.
 
Finlinson picked up where he left off as his sixth triple of the night preceded a dunk and a pair of free throws to surpass the 30-point mark for the third time this season and the second time in the previous three games.
 
A Trujillo 3-pointer ballooned the lead to 34 for the Badgers just over 4 minutes into the second half. Snow College continued to connect from deep throughout the middle minutes of the half before Adams hit a trio of 3-pointers to give Snow College its largest lead of the night.
 
The Badgers would make a season-high 19 3-pointers on nearly 58 percent shooting – their second-best percentage from distance in a game this season. They went 14-22 in a 94-70 victory against Arizona Western Nov. 8. As a team, the Badgers, who are fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage, shot 64 percent from the field and cruised to the 120-78 victory.
 
Finlinson finished with a career-high 35 points along with 8 assists and 4 rebounds. Finlinson has been on an impressive scoring run over the Badgers' 13-game winning streak. Over the past 13 games, he has averaged 19.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on 54 percent shooting and 42 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Adams poured in 20 points on 7-11/6-10 shooting, while Felts had his best game as a Badger, tallying a career-best 18 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Brown Jr. notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. Trujillo added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Badgers in the victory.
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will return home for a pair of games, beginning with a matchup with CNCC Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m. They will then take on SLCC Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will take place inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.