The Snow College men's basketball team defeated both its in-state rivals to improve to 18-0 this season. The No. 1 Badgers defeated Salt Lake Community College 90-69 Tuesday before earning an 81-74 victory against No. 23 Utah State University Eastern.
 
Snow College entered the week on the heels of a 96-65 victory against Colorado Northwestern to begin Scenic West Athletic Conference play. Win secured the Badgers' 19^th consecutive home victory.
 
The Badgers started strong against the Bruins and jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes. Salt Lake used a 13-5 run to take an 18-17 lead with 12 minutes left in the first period.
 
A 3-pointer from Bron Roberts and a pair of layups from McCaden Adams and Sam Sivulich gave the Badgers their largest lead of the first half.
 
Snow College dominated the glass in the opening stanza. The Badgers outrebounded the Bruins 28-10, including a 12-2 advantage on the offensive glass, and converted 12 second-chance points. They took a 47-39 lead into halftime.
 
After the Bruins scored first in the second quarter, the Badgers went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a fast-break dunk from Brock McClure to take a 57-41 lead. Salt Lake was able to trim the lead down to seven points midway through the second period, but the Badgers ran away and hid.
 
Snow College responded with a 14-4 burst to gain a 17-point advantage. A fastbreak dunk from Sean Felts preceded a 3-pointer from Blake Bahr that found the bottom of the net to all but seal things for the Badgers. They went on to win 90-69.
 
Adams led all scorers with 22 points and five rebounds. Felts recorded a monster 19-point, 14-rebound, double-double. McClure added 14 points and six rebounds while Roberts chipped in 13 points and five rebounds. Sivulich flirted with a triple-double, tallying 11 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.
 
Following the win, Snow College welcomed No. 23 USUE to town to wrap up the three-game home stand. The Eagles had climbed into the NJCAA Division I Top 25 after riding a 14-game winning streak leading up to Thursday night's game.
 
The lead bounced back and forth between both teams through the first eight minutes of the game. Seven straight points from McClure over the middle minutes of the opening period gave the Badgers a 27-20 edge.
 
The Eagles quickly trimmed the lead back to two with seven minutes to play. A personal 5-0 run from Felts pushed the Badgers' advantage to 39-31. After Aaron Bliss converted a 3-point play, Bahr stole the ball on the ensuing possession and layed the ball in on the other end. Snow College entered the Break leading 44-35.
 
Five straight points from Adams opened the second half for the Badgers, giving them a 14-point lead. Snow College maintained a double-digit lead over the first 14 minutes of the second half and extended the lead out to 71-56 with 6:39 to play.
 
Over the next three and a half minutes, USUE went on a 16-1 run to tie the score at 72 with three minutes to play. A pair of free throws and a layup from Adams saw the Badgers take a 76-72 lead.
 
The Eagles responded with a bucket on the other end before an offensive foul against the Badgers gave USUE a chance to tie or take the lead with under 90 seconds to play. The Eagle's ensuing 3-point attempt missed everything, and the Badgers regained possession.
 
With the shot clock ticking down, Kyle Lemke was fouled and sent to the charity stripe, where he converted one of two free throws. On the other end, Sivulich poked the ball away, and it landed in the hands of Bahr, who was fouled and iced the game from the line. He sank both free throws, and the Badgers held on to the 81-74 victory.
 
Adams again paced all scorers with 19 points and five rebounds. Bahr scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. McClure recorded his ninth double-double of the season as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Bliss added 10 points and nine rebounds, including five offensive boards.
 
With the wins, Snow College improves to 18-0 and has now won 21 straight home games dating back to last season. The Badgers are one of just four teams in the NJCAA Division I Rankings with an unblemished record.
 
They will now head north for their first of two trips to the Gem State and take on No. 11 College of Southern Idaho Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Snow College will then face North Idaho College Saturday at 4:00 p.m. MST inside Christianson Gymnasium in Coeur d'Alene. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.