Snow men split different-looking games against Spartans
2-13-08

EPHRAIM—The Snow College Badgers split two games against the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans last weekend, starting with an 81-75 loss on Friday before earning a 92-84 win on Saturday.
And the two games were as different as they were alike.
The Badgers controlled the first 10 minutes of game one, but the Spartans took control when they went on an 11-0 run to put them up by 10 after Snow loosened its defense.
CNCC found success from the three-point line going 8-of-14 from outside and took a 44-33 lead into halftime.
Snow put the pressure back on but failed to regain any kind of lead as the Spartans dropped four more long ones in the second half.
The closest the Badgers got was a 72-72 tie with about a minute-and-a-half left, but CNCC took over the last minute of the game to pull off the win.
Saturday started out much the same.
Snow came out with a lot of pressure on defense and found themselves up 20-12.
But Snow relieved the pressure and CNCC went on a 13-0 run that put them up 25-20.
The Spartans controlled the arc and rained three-pointers on the Badgers, nailing 9-of-14 through the first half. It looked like a repeat of Friday’s game with CNCC up 53-44 at the half.
Snow once again came out with defensive pressure and the Spartans were only able to gain access to the paint on a fast breaks.
The Badgers also managed to keep pressure above the arc while closing down inside lanes, holding the Spartans to 1-of-9 from 3-point land in the second half.
Snow also dominated the boards offensively and defensively in the second half.
After pretty even rebound numbers in the first half the Badgers were all alone under the hoop in the second half, with the ball in Badger hands a game total of 35 times compared to 16 by the Spartans.
The two games also showed other similarities and differences.
In both games Snow posted high marks in the turnover category, coughing up the ball 14 times in game one and 21 times in game two, compared to the Spartans who let the ball slip 12 times and six times respectively.
Some of the main differences between the games came in Snow’s shooting percentages.
In game one Snow went 25-for-61, 7-for-24 from the three-point line. In game two the Badgers hit 29-of-48 with 13-of-22 coming from outside the arc.
Snow saw drastic changes in free throws as well.
On Friday Snow shot 18-of-30 from the line and only 5-of-12 in the first half for a game total of 60 percent.
Saturday saw the Badgers go 21-of-23 with one missed shot in each half for a sizzling 91.3 percent from the line.
Snow also saw a change in the lineup.
Ryan Brimley, who came off the bench in game one to put up eight points for his team, started game two leading his team with 33 points and five assists.
One of those assists came after he stole the ball and dropped it to Rory Patterson who grabbed the alley-oop and slammed it home for two of his 30 points on Saturday.
Patterson led the team on Friday with 22 points followed by Rene Farias, who put up 14 points and one assist.
Farias had a solid game off the bench on Saturday with nine points and three assists.