The Snow College men's basketball team collected a pair of victories at the Snow College Classic, including an 80-71 victory against No. 11 Indian Hills Community College Friday and Saturday in Ephraim. The Badgers now improve to 7-0 to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
 
Snow College entered the two-day tournament off the heels of a 117-64 victory against Yavapai College Monday in its home opener. The win was the Badgers' 14^th consecutive victory at home.
 
Friday's game against Central Arizona College started in the Badgers' favor. They jumped out to a 13-2 lead just three and a half minutes into action. Snow College continued to punish the Vaqueros in the paint, scoring 18 of its first 24 points from inside the key.
 
A 14-3 run during the middle minutes of the opening period gave the Badgers a 33-12 lead with seven minutes to play. Later on, a smooth baseline jumper from Max Toombs gave the Badgers a 24-point edge – their largest of the first half.
 
CAC rallied back in the waning minutes of the first half with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 14 points with three minutes to play. The Badgers would eventually take a 49-34 lead into the halftime break.
 
A dunk from Aaron Bliss and a 3-pointer from Keagan Caton kicked off things for the Badgers to begin the second half. The triple from Caton was just one of five made 3-pointers for Snow College.
 
The Badgers, who entered Friday's game shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc through the first five games of the season, couldn't find much of a rhythm from three against the Vaqueros, shooting just 5-20 throughout the game.
 
CAC was able to whittle down the lead to just 12 points with 13 minutes left in regulation, but a quick 9-1 from the Badgers pushed the advantage back to 20 points. Snow College was able to keep the Vaqueros at bay the rest of the way and earned the 96-71 victory.
 
Six Badgers scored in double figures, led by Bliss and Sam Sivulich, who both finished with 14 points. Caton stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
 
McCaden Adams tallied 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Kyle Lemke and Sean Felts both had 10 to aid in the victory. It's the second consecutive game the Badgers have had six players in double figures.
 
It was a quick turnaround for the Badgers, who welcomed No. 11 IHCC to town for the first time ever. The two teams met last season in Iowa, where the Badgers earned a 93-88 victory.
 
After the Badgers took a brief four-point lead to begin the game, IHCC used an 18-5 run to claim a 20-11 advantage just over seven minutes into the first half. This would be the Warriors' largest lead of the game.
 
The Badgers responded with an 8-0 run to get back within a point. Consecutive buckets and a pair of free throws from Felts midway through the period leveled the score at 25.
 
A 3-pointer from IHCC preceded a 12-0 burst from the Badgers to take a 37-28 lead with under three minutes to play in the opening stanza. IHCC cut the lead down to just two before the Badgers took a 39-35 lead into the break.
 
The Badgers never trailed in the second half, but the Warriors kept the Badgers on their toes throughout the final 20 minutes. Five straight points from IHCC in the early minutes of the second half trimmed the lead to just one.
 
Snow College kept the Warriors at bay over the next ten minutes of action, A pair of deep jumpers from Felts, including his first career 3-pointer, pushed the Badgers' lead to 69-59 with five minutes to play.
 
Another jumper from Felts gave the Badgers a 13-point lead – their largest of the game – with 1:22 remaining. Snow College would ice the game at the charity stripe and earn the 80-71 victory.
 
Felts presence was evident on both sides of the floor as he fell one rebound shy of a double-double. He led all scorers with 24 points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots. Adams recorded 23 points and four assists for the Badgers.
 
As a team, the Badgers shot just 44 percent from the field against the Warriors. It's the first game this season in which Snow College has shot below 50 percent from the field. They entered the weekend as the third-best shooting team in the nation, averaging 59.2 percent.
 
The Badgers will now play just one game over the next 18 days. They'll head north to Powell, Wyoming, to take on Northwest College Saturday, Nov 29 at 2:00 p.m. The Trappers are 3-3 to begin the 2025-26 season. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.