The Snow College men's basketball team reached the 20-win mark after securing an 81-70 victory against Utah State University Eastern Thursday night in Price. The No. 3 Badgers now improve to 20-1 overall this season and 5-1 within Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
 
Snow College entered the standalone game Thursday after splitting games during its first trip to Idaho this season. The Badgers suffered their first loss of the season against No. 11 College of Southern Idaho 84-76 followed by a 106-82 victory against North Idaho College.
 
The offense was hard to come by in the opening minutes against the Eagles. A total of 14 points between both teams was scored in the opening eight and a half minutes. A jumper from Kyle Lemke gave the Badgers an 11-5 lead with 11:20 to play in the first half.
 
After a 3-pointer from Brock McClure extended the lead to seven a few minutes later, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 14 apiece. USUE took a brief one-point lead with under three minutes to play but the Badgers scored six of the last eight points to take a 26-23 lead into the halftime break. Snow College shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half which matches their season low.
 
The Badgers caught fire to begin the second half. Over the first five minutes of the final period, the Badgers outscored the Eagles 16-4 while shooting 6-8 from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc. Sam Sivulich hit back-to-back triples before Bron Roberts and McCaden Adams got in on the 3-poing barrage to give the Badgers a 42-30 lead.
 
Snow College stretched the lead to as many as 15 points by the midway point of the second half. Max Toombs provided a spark off the bench as he put in eight straight points, giving the Badgers a 56-41 edge with 11 minutes to play.
 
The Eagles fought back and trimmed the lead to as little as seven points with four minutes to play, but the Badgers held their in-state rival at bay and went on to secure the victory, 81-70 – their second win against USUE this season.
 
Defensively, the Badgers held the Eagles to shoot just 43 percent from the field. It's USUE's fifth-worst shooting percentage in a game this season.
 
Sivulich led the Badgers with 15 points on 5-10 shooting and 4-8 from beyond the arc. Adams stuffed the stat sheet as he finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Brock McClure also recorded 14 points, while Toombs tallied 12. Sean Felts added 10 points and eight boards in the victory.
 
With the win, the Badgers secure their 20^th victory of the season. They have recorded 20 or more victories in each of the previous five years, including all four seasons under Head Coach Andrew May.
 
Snow College will play five of their remaining nine games of the regular season at home beginning with North Idaho College Thursday, Jan. 29. The Cardinals enter the matchup with a 12-9 overall record and a 2-4 conference mark after earning a 74-61 victory against Salt Lake Community College in Coeur d'Alene. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.