STRONG SECOND HALF BOOSTS BRUINS
by John Coon

Deseret News

TAYLORSVILLE — Even though Salt Lake Community College led for much of the first half against in-state rival Snow College, there seemed to be some missing elements from the Bruins' game.

The Badgers had worked their way back after SLCC threatened to blow it wide open early.

Allowing that scenario to repeat itself in the second half was not an option.

"We came out hard-nosed and just wanted to get in their grill and play ball," freshman forward D.J. Wright said. "Play the way we play it. Not their tempo. Our tempo."

SLCC took control on both sides of the ball coming out of the locker room to fuel a 80-59 rout over Snow in the Scenic West Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday night at the Lifetime Activities Center.

Wright finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Bruins (14-1). Dathan Lyles added 19 points to lead all scorers. Ryan Brimley had 13 points to lead Snow.

SLCC shot 62 percent from the field in the second half after making only 41 percent of its first-half field goal attempts. At the same time, they limited the Badgers (13-3) to a dismal 22 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.

It made taking control of a tight game an easy task. After Brimley made a jumper to make it a one-point game at 36-35, the Bruins ripped off 10 unanswered points to take a 46-35 lead.

SLCC powered its run by pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets in transition. D.J. Wright stole the ball on one possession to set up a quick 3-pointer by Rick Shoff. On the following possession, Lyles forced another steal and lobbed an outlet pass to Wright for a dunk.

"We just wore on them," Bruins coach Norm Parrish said. "We stayed with their shooters. I thought we made them take some pretty tough shots."

Snow managed to briefly rally. Melvin Haynes scored in succession on a jumper and a pair of free throws to make it 56-50. But Drew Robinson answered with consecutive baskets that boosted SLCC's lead to 62-50 with 7:21 remaining and effectively put the Bruins in the driver's seat.

Still, Parrish didn't feel like any lead was safe until the final minute.

"They're a pretty free shooting team," Parrish said. "If they get it going, you're in trouble."

Lyles got the Bruins going early by draining two straight three-pointers to give SLCC a 10-4 lead.

The Bruins pushed that early advantage to double digits twice — going up 16-6 on Kael Pope's turnaround jumper and 18-8 on a driving layup by Wright.

But Snow erased much of that early deficit in rapid fashion. Reserve guard Riley Crosbie buried consecutive three-pointers of his own to spark a 17-4 run that put the Badgers up 25-22 with about six minutes to go before halftime.

Snow struggled after losing Rory Patterson to an apparent knee injury late in the first half. Patterson had to be helped off the court and stayed on the bench — and on crutches — throughout the second half.