Badgers come back to win over So. Idaho, then lose to SLCC, 96-83
Matt Harris
Staff writer
2-23-2017
SALT LAKE CITY — Snow men’s basketball pulled off a comeback victory once again against Southern Idaho before the Badgers hit a snag against Salt Lake.
The 19th-ranked Badgers beat Southern Idaho, 99-93, and lost to Salt Lake, 96-83. Snow is 4-0 against the Eagles this season, and split their series, 2-2, with the Bruins, winning each of their home games against them. Snow is now 23-5 on the season with an 11-3 conference record, including a spotless 12-0 record at home.
While the Badgers’ prolific offense keeps them at the top of the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC), their defense has shown flaws whenever they play the Eagles and Bruins, allowing those two teams to average 85.7 points against the Badgers over the season.
Last Thursday against Southern Idaho, Snow spent much of much of the game in a deficit against the Eagles. Southern held a steady lead over Snow all first half. Snow came back as the first was ending to trim the Eagles’ halftime to a mere three points, 51-48.
While the Eagles’ maintained the slim lead for much of the second half, Snow took over with 10 minutes remaining behind sharp offensive nights from sophomore Blake Truman and freshman Zach Hunsaker. The Badgers outscored Southern Idaho, 51-42, in the second half to take the victory.
The Badgers were led by Truman’s double-double night with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Despite shooting only 6-16 from the field, Hunsaker backed up Truman with 19 points.
Things changed when the Badgers stepped on the home court of Salt Lake. After a close game, nearly from start to finish, it was the Bruins who pulled out the late-game heroics to put away the Badgers. With a Hunsaker three bringing the score to76-75 in the Bruins favor, Salt Lake took the cue to go on a 10-1 scoring run to put the game away.
Hunsaker led the Badgers with 20 points, while Panter added 17. Bruneel chipped 14 and Truman 11. The Badgers were limited to only 27 rebounds. The 13-point loss is the largest margin of loss for Snow this season except for a 20-point loss to No. 1, undefeated South Plains before conference play began.
Snow still holds a two-game lead on the top spot in the conference, second to Southern Idaho. They are expected to win out their schedule and claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The Badgers play their final home game against Utah State-Eastern tonight at 7:30 p.m. before heading on the road for their season finale against Colorado Northwestern on Saturday.
