The Snow College men's basketball team earned an 84-64 victory against Utah State University Eastern Thursday night in Ephraim. The Badgers erased a halftime deficit with a strong second-half surge to claim their 25^th victory of the season.
 
Snow College entered action Thursday night riding a six-game winning streak, including a pair of convincing victories against Salt Lake Community College and Colorado Northwestern Community College last weekend.
 
Sam Sivulich came out of the gates scorching as he hit a trio of 3-pointers within the first five minutes of play. After USUE briefly moved ahead midway through the half, Sivulich answered again with a 3-pointer at 13:30 to regain the lead. In total, Sivulich recorded six triples for 19 first-half points.
 
The Eagles used a 7-0 run in the latter portions of the opening half to take a brief 28-26 lead before consecutive 3-pointers from Sivulich and Toombs gave the Badgers the lead right back. Another 7-0 run from USUE saw the lead change hands again.
 
Toombs provided a spark off the bench late in the half. With Snow trailing by three, He converted back-to-back baskets in the paint to give the Badgers a 36-35 advantage. USUE closed the half at the free-throw line to take a one-point edge into the break.
 
McCaden Adams tied the contest with three free throws to start the second half for the Badgers. Moments later, Kyle Lemke finished a layup to even the score at 41-41 before Sivulich buried another 3-pointer to ignite a 19-2 run over the next six minutes.
 
Offensively, six different Badgers scored during that stretch while the defense held the Eagles without a field goal for more than four minutes. James Rust finished an easy layup in the paint to give the Badgers a 60-43 advantage with 11 and a half minutes to play.
 
Rust added consecutive 3-pointers a few minutes later to stretch the lead to 71-48. Aaron Bliss punctuated the run with a dunk and a three-point play during a 7-0 spurt that pushed the advantage to 78-54 with just over five minutes remaining.
 
The Badgers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game and extended their lead out to as many as 27 points in the second half. The Badgers outscored USUE 48-27 in the final 20 minutes while holding the Eagles to 28 percent shooting after halftime. Snow College shot 53 percent in the second half and finished the game at 48 percent overall, including 12 made 3-pointers.
 
Sivulich led all scorers with 25 points on 7-12 shooting from deep. Toombs added a career-high 19 points on 7-11 shooting, while Rust contributed 10 points and six rebounds to aid in the victory.
 
With the win, the Badgers now improve to 25-1 overall and 10-1 within Scenic West Athletic Conference play. The Badgers have now won 25 or more games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002. That team, led by Head Coach Jon Judkins, won 25 or more games in four straight seasons between 1998 and 2002.
 
Snow College will wrap up its home schedule next week, beginning with SLCC Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Badgers will then play their final home game of the regular season against CNCC Saturday. Tipoff on sophomore night is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.