The Snow College men's basketball team earned two victories in Idaho over the weekend. The Badgers defeated the No. 20 College of Southern Idaho 93-89 before securing the 99-87 victory against North Idaho College to record their 15^th consecutive win.
 
Snow College entered its lone road trip to Idaho off the heels of its best offensive performance of the season. The Badgers claimed a 120-78 victory against Utah State University Eastern Jan. 23. It's the most points Snow College has scored in a game this season.
 
The Badgers got off to a good start as a 3-pointer from McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) and a layup from Isaac Garrett (So./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) saw them double up the Golden Eagles, 14-7 five minutes into action.
 
Another triple from Adams a minute later extended the lead to eight, but an 8-1 CSI run trimmed the lead to one. The Golden Eagles managed to tie the game at 23 midway through the opening stanza before taking a 32-28 lead with six minutes to play in the first half.
 
The lead teeter-tottered over the final few minutes of the first half as Adams made a layup to cut the Badgers' deficit to 2.  A desperation 3-pointer for the Golden Eagles at the buzzer found the bottom of the net and CSI took a 48-42 lead into intermission.
 
CSI took its largest lead of the game at 56-49 two minutes into the second half. The Golden Eagles maintained the lead for much of the period before a 10-0 run from the Badgers gave them a 77-71 lead with six and a half to play.
 
The Golden Eagles would not go quietly and responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 79. The game went back and forth over the next few minutes before CSI took an 84-83 lead with 2:39 to play. A layup from Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) and a pair of free-throws from Isaac Garrett (So./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) gave Snow College a 3-point lead.
 
Both teams exchanged 3-pointers, and the Badgers led by just three with under a minute to play. With possession of the ball and less than 30 seconds left, the Badgers missed a 3-point attempt when Garrett grabbed the offensive rebounds amongst two Golden Eagles. He preceded to clean up the miss with a layup, giving Snow College a 92-87 lead.
 
After a CSI layup on the subsequent possession made it a one-possession game. Adams was fouled and iced the game with a free throw to give the Badgers a 93-89 victory.
 
Adams shined in the victory and recorded a career-high 27 points on 9-14 shooting and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) finished with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Garrett recorded his fourth double-double of the season tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brown Jr. added 12 points in the victory.
 
Following the victory, Snow College traveled to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, for the second matchup of the season with the Cardinals. The Badgers took an early lead with back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes, but things quickly changed.
 
The Cardinals outscored the Badgers 13-5 over the next five minutes to take a 17-13 lead. Snow College was able to tie the game at 20 midway through the period. A quick 7-0 burst from the Cardinals gave them a 27-20 lead. The Badgers were able to trim the lead to one but NIC continued to shoot well from the field.
 
NIC pushed the lead back to six points with two minutes left in the first half. The Badgers were able to whittle the lead down and enter halftime trailing 44-42. The Cardinals shot 58 percent from the field in the first half.
 
The Cardinals rode the wave of Vaughan Weems, the nation's leading scorer, and were able to push the lead back to seven points three and a half minutes into the second half. The Badgers continued to chip away before a 7-0 run gave them the lead for good.
 
NIC made one final push during the middle minutes of the period and tied the game at 70 behind seven straight points. Over the final 10 minutes of action, Snow College extended the lead out to as many as 15 before securing the 99-87 victory. The Badgers withstood 38 points from Weems, his second-highest scoring performance of the season.
 
Finlinson led the Badgers in scoring as he recorded 27 points and grabbed six rebounds. Brown Jr. added 19 points and five rebounds while Garrett poured in 14 points. Adams had 12 points and five rebounds, and Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) recorded his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Snow College (22-1 overall/8-0 SWAC) will now play four of their final seven games of the regular season at home, beginning with Colorado Northwestern Community College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Badgers will then face Salt Lake Community College Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be played inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.