Snow Badgers 1-1 on road trip, pre-season ends with 15-3 record

By James Tilson

01-10-2019

HOBBS, N.M.—The Snow College men’s basketball team went 1-1 on its last road trip before the beginning of conference play, ending their non-conference schedule with a 15-3 record.

The Badgers travelled to Hobbs, N.M. and defeated New Mexico Junior College 78-75 on Thursday Jan. 3, and then lost to Clarendon College 75-91 on Friday Jan. 4.

“We had a good win against No. 20 New Mexico, and played hard,” said head coach Rob Nielson. “Jake Walker hit 3 threes in the final few minutes to carry us to the victory. Logan Hokanson had a pretty good game, as well.”

The Badgers were led in scoring by Brayden Johnson, with 15 points, including going 2 for 6 from the 3-point line. Nick Huston and Hokanson chipped in 14 apiece, and Truman Moore had 10.

Walker, who had 11 points for the night, had gone 0-7 from three before hitting his last 3 threes to end the game.

Against Clarendon, the Badgers were just not on their game, and their usually explosive offense was stymied by the Clarendon defense.

“In the second game, Hokanson and Moore struggled, but they will be ready for league play,” said Neilson. Both players, usually high scorers for the Badgers, got only 1 and 4 points respectively against Clarendon. However, Stockton Shorts had a very good night, scoring 20 points, and Derrian Nebeker added 18.

The Badgers begin league play on tonight in Ephraim on the Snow College campus, hosting the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles. This year, the men’s and women’s teams will be playing the same opponent on the same court, one after the other. The women will tip off at 5:30 p.m., and the men will tip off after, usually at 7:30 p.m.