Badgers down Spartans, coach hits 100 wins
Photo by Kyle Parry.
EPHRAIM — Snow College hit another milestone Saturday afternoon inside the Horne Activity Center.
The No. 1 Badgers defeated Colorado Northwestern Community College 100-87 to improve to 27-1 overall and 12-1 in Scenic West Athletic Conference play. The win also marked Head Coach Andrew May’s 100th career victory at Snow College.
Snow entered the game coming off a 90-77 win over Salt Lake Community College on Thursday. Saturday’s victory secured a second consecutive undefeated regular season at home after the Badgers went 13-0 inside the Horne Activity Center last year.
Kyle Lemke set the tone early with back-to-back layups to open the scoring. After CNCC trimmed the lead to three, Snow used a 12-4 run capped by a Sam Sivulich steal and score to push the margin to 11 just four minutes into the contest.
The Spartans shot 53 percent in the first half and worked the deficit down to one during the opening period. Snow responded with timely baskets from Adams McCaden and Sivulich, while Lemke controlled the paint with four interior scores during a key stretch that helped the Badgers build a 13-point edge.
Snow closed the half on a strong note. Adams converted a jumper and a free throw, Sivulich finished a fastbreak off a steal, and Blake Bahr scored inside in the final minute to give the Badgers a 58-45 halftime lead.
The second half opened with a 9-0 Snow run as Jackson Rose scored consecutive baskets. Adams followed with a 3-pointer at the 17:20 mark to stretch the lead to 67-45, the Badgers’ largest advantage of the afternoon.
CNCC answered with an 8-0 run and later cut the deficit to 10 with just over seven minutes remaining. Snow responded again as James Rust and Sivulich hit from long range to push the lead back to 15. Adams added a fastbreak dunk, and Max Toombs knocked down a 3-pointer to restore a 20-point cushion.
Sean Felts capped the afternoon with a dunk that pushed Snow to the 100-point mark for the ninth time this season.
The Badgers shot 49 percent from the field, scored 54 points in the paint and dished out a season-high 30 assists.
Adams led Snow with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists. Sivulich added 16 points and a career-high 12 assists. Lemke finished with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Felts added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Toombs contributed 10 points off the bench.
May becomes the fourth coach in program history to reach 100 wins at Snow College, joining Ron Abegglen, Jon Judkins and Robert Nielson. His .820 winning percentage is the highest in school history.
Following Saturday’s result, Snow and No. 4 College of Southern Idaho are tied atop the conference standings at 12-1. The two teams will meet in the regular-season finale with hosting rights for the Region 18 Tournament on the line.
The Badgers begin their final road trip of the regular season Thursday at North Idaho College before closing the year Saturday at College of Southern Idaho.