BADGERS SPLIT ON ROAD
VERSUS NORTH IDAHO
by Tyler Hughes

Badgers Take Cardinals Friday - Win 57-51

This past weekend the Badgers (17-7 overall, 9-5 conference) were in action versus the North Idaho Cardinals. Looking to hold their position at 2nd place in the conference standings, the Badgers split with the Cardinals in the two game road trip.

The Badgers picked up a win on Friday night while winning 57-51, but failed to do so on Saturday as the final was 88-79 in favor of North Idaho. However, the Badgers were able to retain a one game lead in the 2nd place spot as Salt Lake Community College and Eastern Utah split as well over the weekend leaving them at 8-6 apiece in the conference.

Below are the game reports for both contests:

Game 1:
Snow 57 North Idaho 51

After making the long trip to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to face the Cardinals, the Snow College men’s basketball team came away victorious on Friday night. Both teams scored below their season average in a game where defense was the surrounding theme.

The Badgers under Roger Reid play some of the best defense in the conference allowing just 69 points per game, held North Idaho to 25 points less than their season average while forcing them to shoot only 31% from the field. In addition, they defended the interior well which led to 20 Cardinal 3-point shot attempts in which only were 3 were connected upon.

The Badgers, while not scoring at their season average either, were much more efficient at the offensive end than the Cardinals. In fact, they had 33 less shot attempts overall, however they shot 51% from the field. Leading the scoring charge was Cris Hoopes with 16 while also pulling down 8 rebounds. Geoff Payne netted 15 for the Badgers.

Game 2:
Snow 79 North Idaho 88

Snow College won an efficient, grind-it-out ball game on Friday over North Idaho. On Saturday night, the Cardinals needed overtime to finally defeat Snow College. They also benefited from being sent to the free throw line a significant number of times.

The Cardinals shot 26-30 from the free throw line. In contrast, they shot just 11 times from the line during Friday’s match-up. Point guard, Nick Livi, shot 11-12 from the line to lead the way for the Cardinals with 18 points on the night. The Cardinals had six players in all reach double figures in scoring during Saturday’s action.

Snow College, on the other hand, trailed at the intermission but was able to battle back to send the game into overtime. Geoff Payne was once again the man whom the offense went through as he led all scorers with 22 in addition to pulling down a game-high, 8 rebounds. Adrien Sturt, a freshman center from Melbourne, Australia, has been steadily improving all year and was able to add 14 for Snow College followed by conference field goal percentage leader, Cris Hoopes, who netted 12 for the Badgers.

The Badgers have a big weekend of basketball ahead of them as they go on the road yet again; this time to face the College of Eastern Utah. Conference positioning and in-state recruits are at stake as the Badgers as the Badgers play on February 16th and 17th in Price, Utah. Tip off is set for 7:30 PM and the games can be heard locally on KMTI-Am 650 and right here on SnowBadgers.com.