GAME NOTES

• The Snow College men's basketball team returns home for a pair of games beginning with North Idaho College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim. They'll then face No. 4 College of Southern Idaho Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

 

• Snow College is coming off an 81-70 victory against Utah State University Eastern last Thursday in Price. This is the Badgers' second victory against the Eagles this season and ensures the Badgers own the tiebreaker, if needed, when qualifying for the Region 18 Tournament.

 

• The victory against the Eagles secured the Badgers' 20^th victory of the season. They have now won 20 or more games in five consecutive seasons and in all four years since Head Coach Andrew May took over the program in 2022.

 

• The Badgers have only won 20 or more games in five straight seasons just once in their history. Snow College, coached by Jon Judkins, won 20 or more games each season between 1997 and 2005.

 

• Snow College remains one of the best shooting teams in the nation. The Badgers rank 12^th in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent and ninth in 3-point percentage at 39.5.

 

• The Badgers have led at halftime in all 21 of their games this season. They are 86-4 all-time under May when holding the halftime advantage. Excluding the Badgers' loss to CSI earlier this season in which they led at halftime, the most recent time the Badgers lost when leading after the first half was against NIC Feb. 15, 2024

 

• NIC enters Thursday's matchup with a 13-9 overall record and a 3-4 mark within Scenic West Athletic Conference play. The Cardinals are coming off consecutive victories against Salt Lake Community College and Colorado Northwestern Community College.

 

• The Badgers defeated the Cardinals 106-82 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, earlier this season. Snow College is 12-25 all time against NIC but has won four in a row, dating back to last season.

 
LAST TIME OUT: 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.
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will head on the road for the penultimate time this season. They will first head north to take on SLCC Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m. in Taylorsville. Snow College will then take on CNCC in Rangely, Feb. 7 at 3:00 p.m. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.