GAME NOTES: The Snow College men's basketball team will look to officially punch its ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament as it hosts No. 17 Eastern Arizona College in the West District Championship Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Ephraim.
 
The Badgers won the Region 18 Tournament Championship last weekend as they defeated Salt Lake Community College 87-84 before securing a 91-68 victory against the College of Southern Idaho in the title game.
 
The Region Championship is just the fourth in program history for the Badgers, with the most recent coming in the 2018-19 season.  Three members of the team were given Region 18 Tournament honors. Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, while Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) and Isaac Garret were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
As a result of winning the Region Championship in 2019, the Badgers appeared in the West District Championship for the first time ever. They suffered a 93-79 loss against Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona.
 
Following the conclusion of the Region Tournament, four Badgers were given Scenic West Athletic Conference Awards, including Finlinson, who was named the SWAC Player of the Year. Garrett was named to the All-Conference First Team while Brown Jr. and Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) were both given All-Conference Second Team honors.
 
Snow College Head Coach Andrew May was named the SWAC Coach of the Year. May led his team to a 29-1 regular season record, including a perfect 15-0 mark within conference play. May has cumulated a 72-20 overall record and a 31-14 conference record in his three seasons on the sidelines.
 
The Badgers and the Gila Monsters met earlier in the season, with Snow College earning a 79-60 victory Nov. 9 in Thatcher, Arizona. The Badgers have never lost to EAC, going 3-0 since the 2016-17 season.
 
The Gila Monsters own a 29-3 overall record and went 16-2 within Arizona Community College Athletic Conference play this year. They will enter Saturday's game riding a 14-game winning streak, with their most recent win coming in a 66-63 victory against AWC in the Region 1 Title Game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: For the fourth time in program history, the Snow College men's basketball team has won the Region 18 Championship. The Badgers defeated Salt Lake Community College 87-84 Friday before beating the College of Southern Idaho 91-68 Saturday to claim the title.
 
The Badgers entered the tournament as the top seed and the host school after going a perfect 15-0 within Scenic West Athletic Conference play during the regular season. They last appeared in the Region 18 Championship match during the 2022-23 tournament.
 
Snow College got out to a quick start in the first round of the tournament against SLCC, scoring each of the first eight points of the game. The Bruins rallied back and used a 7-0 run to get back within one just over five minutes into the action.
 
A pair of buckets from Kyle Lemke (Fr./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) were sandwiched between 3-pointers from Mark Brown Jr. (So./South Phoenix, Arizona/Bella Vista Prep) and McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS).
 
Eight straight points from the Badgers, five from the charity stripe, saw them take a 23-11 lead midway through the period. SLCC responded with layups on three consecutive possessions to cut the deficit back to just six.
 
Later on, a triple from SLCC saw the Badgers holding a 29-22 lead. Isaac Finlinson (So./St. George, Utah/Dixie HS), who leads the Badgers in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game this season, scored nine of the Badgers' final 11 points of the first half. Snow College went into intermission with a 40-25 edge.
 
The Badgers extended the lead out to as many as 17 while maintaining a double-digit advantage through the first seven minutes of the second half. Over the first 27 minutes of the game, SLCC had been shooting just 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep but eventually found its rhythm with 13 minutes left in regulation. Snow held a 56-43 lead when the Bruins caught fire.
 
Over a five-minute stretch, the Bruins went 6-9 from the field, including 4-4 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the free-throw line, and the Badgers' 13-point cushion all but evaporated as the lead 62-61 with just over eight minutes to play.
 
The Badgers showed resiliency as a 3-pointer from Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) and a jumper from Brown Jr. capped an 11-4 run and Snow pushed the lead back to eight points with under five minutes remaining.
 
SLCC made one final push and cut the deficit in half from the free-throw line, but a triple and a pair of free throws from McCaden Adams (Fr./Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS) with under a minute to play all but sealed it for the Badgers as they held on to win, 87-84.
 
Finlinson led the Badgers offensively as he recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds. Brown Jr. put in 20 points, dished six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and had four steals. Adams put in 10 points, while Chance Trujillo (Fr./Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) and Garrett each had 10 points and seven rebounds to aid in the win.
 
With the win, the Badgers entered the Region 18 Title game for the second time in the last three seasons to take on CSI. Snow College had won all three meetings against the Golden Eagles this season, including both matchups in Ephraim.
 
The Badgers started strong once again as a 3-pointer from Brown Jr. capped a 7-0 run, and Snow College led 13-5 early on. A pair of CSI buckets, which trimmed the lead to four, preceded a 16-2 extended run for the Badgers, who took a 29-11 lead with seven minutes left in the first half.
 
Snow College extended the advantage out to as many as 20 points before a burst from the Golden Eagles brought the score to 39-28. The Badgers would enter halftime in a familiar spot –  leading 43-30. They've led in 25 of their 32 games entering Saturday and are undefeated in such games.
 
Snow College maintained a double-digit lead for the first seven minutes of the second half, but a 6-0 run from CSI saw the lead dwindle to 53-47. That was the closest the Golden Eagles would come throughout the remainder of the game.
 
Over the course of about 90 seconds, the Badgers were fouled on 3-point attempts twice. Finlinson and Adams toed the charity stripe and sank all six free throws to push the lead back to 11 with under 10 minutes to play.
 
Later in the half, an 11-0 run, six from Brown Jr., put the game on ice for the Badgers, who led 78-56 with 3:39 remaining. Snow College would salt away the remaining minutes and claim the Region 18 Championship with a convincing 91-68 victory.
 
Finlinson once again paced the Badgers as he scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Brown Jr. tallied 20 points and a career-high 12 assists to record his second career double-double.
 
Coleman Ford (So./Provo, Utah/Timpview HS) added 13 points and four assists off the bench, while Garrett finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Adams added 11 points and five rebounds in the win.
 
As a team, the Badgers shot 61 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc. They have now shot 50 percent or better from the field in 21 of their 32 games this season. They have also shot above the 60 percent mark on five occasions, including Saturday.
 
Three Badgers were named to the All-Tournament Team. Brown Jr. was named the Region 18 Tournament Most Valuable Player. He scored a total of 40 points while recording 18 assists, 10 rebounds, and five steals while shooting 65 percent from the field and 88 percent (7-8) from deep.
 
Finlinson and Garrett were also selected to the All-Tournament Team. Finlinson recorded 45 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks between the two games. Garrett scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished six assists, and had two steals during the tournament.
 
UP NEXT: Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's District Championship, Snow College will head to Hutchinson, Kansas, and participate in the NJCAA National Tournament. The Tournament Bracket will be revealed during the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Selection Show this weekend. For information on the NJCAA National Tournament, visit snowbadgers.com.