A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE FOR SNOW MEN
by Rick Pike

Men Avenge Early December Loss to Rebels

ST. GEORGE, Utah-February 24, 2006-Mike Clark knew they were going in. Snow College sealed a victory over Dixie State Friday when Clark was fouled on a rebound and sank two free throws with two seconds remaining to sink the Rebels 81-78.

The calm with which Clark dashed Dixie's hopes belied the frantic final minutes.

Trailing 77-76 with 1:30 remaining, Snow College grabbed the lead for good when Geoff Payne took a pass from Jake Peterson down the middle of the lane for a twisting lay-up. He was fouled and completed the three-point-play. Snow led 79-77.

The Rebels got a point back when Logan Magnusson made one of two free throws. Snow regained possession, ran off several seconds and then found Payne underneath. The league's leading scorer was fouled and proceeded to miss both free throws. Dixie rebounded and quickly found Milan Stanojevic for an open 15-footer. He missed and Payne rebounded. Forty seconds remained in the game.

After a timeout, Snow worked the shot clock down to ten seconds before attempting a final play; but Jake Peterson turned the ball over and Dixie had a chance to win their second game over Snow in as many opportunities. The Rebel coaches chose not to call timeout and let the frantic play continue. Bad move. Dixie threw up a wild shot and Mike Clark grabbed the rebound.

"I guarded it with my life, explained Clark. "As soon as I heard the whistle blow I said to myself, 'Sweet! Here's two points.'"

Dixie called timeout to ice Clark but the Badger sophomore calmly swished both shots to quiet Dixie's biggest crowd of the season.

"I'd rather have Mike up there than anyone else," said Coach Reid.

"You practice for the situation your whole life. During the timeout I thought back to all those summers in the gym by myself shooting shot after shot," explained Clark. "I did my normal thing - stayed in rhythm, breathed - everything I do practicing them in the summer. I knew I was going to make them."

He did and Snow finally had a victory after losing four in row. More important to Coach Roger Reid, the Badgers finally won a close one down the stretch.

"I'm really happy because we've had so many close games and lost them down the stretch. A lot of teams would have given up but not this team. I'm glad they had a chance to win a close game," remarked Reid.

In a Nutshell…

Play Of The Game – Mike Clark hits two free throws with two seconds remaining to clinch victory Player Of The Game – Geoff Payne who scored 24 of his game high 31 points in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds Sub Of The Game – Bowie Jeffs scores nine points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc The "Wow" Play – Dante Green goes up high to block a seemingly sure lay-up by Dixie's Rick Shoff Quote of the Game – - "As soon as I heard the whistle blow I thought, 'Sweet! Here's two points.'"

The Badgers led 38-33 at halftime. Dixie closed to within one point to start the second half when Snow went on a 13-3 run for an 11-point lead. But Dixie wasn't done.

Over the next eight possessions, Snow turned the ball over seven times and missed their only shot while Ben Murdock caught fire. Murdock scored 12 of Dixie's 14 straight points and the Rebels had a 54-51 lead. The typically quiet Cox arena was loud and raucous and Snow seemed to be falling.

"I told the guys, 'everybody makes a run but we'll have our chance. Hang in there,'" explained Reid.

Snow stayed close - tying the game twice but never leading throughout the middle minutes of the second half. With 3:30 remaining, Dixie led 72-67 and seemed to be in control. Then the game got Payne-ful for the Rebels. Payne scored seven straight, leading Snow to a 74-72 lead. He was a headache for the Rebels throughout the second half, scoring 24 of his game high 31 points.

The usual suspects led Snow to victory. Payne had nine rebounds, Dante Green had 17 points - 14 in the first half, and while Clark shot just 1-6 from the field, he made 5-5 from the free throw line including the game-winners.

The bench played a significant role as well. Bowie Jeffs played 15 minutes, scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc and had two assists. Jason Palmer had four points in just four minutes of play.

"I was happy for Bowie and for Jason. The bench really gave us some quality minutes - particularly in the first half. We were ready for the stretch run tonight because of the bench's first half play," explained Reid.



Other Weekend Games
Dixie jumped out to a 13-point lead mid-way through the second half Saturday and hung on for a 73-67 lead. Snow could get no closer than four or five points in the final ten minutes. Geoff Payne led the Badgers with 24 points while Mike Clark and Chris Hoopes each scored 12. Snow is 5-11 in league play while Dixie is 8-8.

The Lady Badgers dropped two to the Rebels, losing 65-52 Friday and 56-54 Saturday. Snow led by ten points Saturday only to see the lead evaporate during a stretch where they committed seven turnovers in a row. The Lady Badgers are 3-13 in league play.

Snow’s men and women will end the regular season against College of Southern Idaho Friday and Saturday in the Activity Center. The women play at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.