Badgers put game to overtime,

and polish off Golden Eagles 76-70

By Jacob Clawson

Staff writer

2-6-2020

With a six-point deficit and time running off the clock, the Snow College men’s basketball team came back to force Utah State Eastern into overtime, where they went on to outscore the Golden Eagles for a 76-70 win.

Having trailed the whole game to an unforgiving Golden Eagle offense, the Badgers struggled to close the gap. Snow came out in the second half, running nearly everything they had to keep the Golden Eagles from increasing the gap, while trying to find a lead of their own.

With just over two minutes left in regulation, the game took a turn for the better the persevering Badger team. Freshman Point Guard, Nate Duckworth, sunk a 3-pointer from the corner to make it a one basket game. Despite being within reach, neither team was able to find the basket the majority of the remaining minutes with both teams committing shot clock violations.

Duckworth gave Utah State Eastern another point, expanding their lead, after fouling Turahn Thompson with 24 seconds remaining. Now behind by four points, the Badgers fought their way through the court where Darrian Nebeker took a foul from Thompson, sending him to the free throw line to put the game within two points at 59-61.

Taking a last second timeout, the Badgers came out in a full court press, forcing a well needed turnover, where Tray Farrer found a perfect pass to Brayden Johnson in a game tying dunk.

Both teams found themselves with 61 points and just 13 seconds remaining, but the Golden Eagles couldn’t capitalize on their final 3-point shot, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime fell into the hands of the Badgers as the free throw line worked heavily in their favor, shooting 11-of-12 from the stripe. Nebeker scored five points of his own in overtime to push the Badgers to victory, 76-70.

Snow College Coach Robert Neilson shared his thoughts after Thursday’s game in an interview, where he explained, “That was a pretty good comeback there in the last minute or two of regulation. I thought once we got into overtime, we’d have a pretty good chance. Then we were able to settle down and play our game. Our guys made some huge plays when it really counted.”

An impressive six individual players also managed to score double digits, all lead by the team’s most valuable player, Trey Farrer, who found the basket on 6-of-17 to claim a team high 14 points. Neilson noticed this as well stating his pride for his players and how they continue to step up and play unselfishly. “It shows in the stats when six guys are stepping up and getting better each night,” he said.

The Badgers will return to Ephraim, placing second overall in the conference, to start off week five of conference play against College of Southern Idaho on February 6, in Snow’s “Pack the HAC” event that will reward the first 500 fans who dress in dark blue with free hot dogs. The Badgers will then finish off the week in Twin Falls, Idaho against Southern Idaho.