A late USU-Eastern rally fell short as the Eagles suffered an 86-79 conference loss to the Snow College Badgers Saturday in Ephraim.

Trailing 55-37 at the end of the opening half, the Eagles managed to cut a 20-point deficit down to just six with under a minute remaining. The late second half push came just a bit late, ultimately resulting in the team’s fourth conference defeat in as many tries.

Freshman guard Quinn Peters delivered his most complete game of conference play finishing with 26 points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Cam Bailey chipped in with 19 points, connecting on seven of nine attempts from the field.

The Eagles were unable to slow the explosive Snow College offense in the first half as they connected on 53-percent of their attempts from the field. The Badgers also knocked down eight three-point shots, leading to the comfortable advantage at the break.

USU-Eastern improved in all aspects, including defensively in the final 20 minutes. Holding Snow to just 36-percent from the field, the Eagles managed to chip away at the deficit by balancing an inside-outside attack. The late push was not enough to propel the Eagles, who dipped to 0-4 in conference play, while Snow remains unbeaten at 4-0.

Nate Bruneel paced the Badgers with a team high 19 points, and nine rebounds. Leading scorer Zach Hunsaker was held under his season average as he finished with 16 points, scoring only one in the second half. AJ Jones and Riley Panter both finished with 15, and Romain Boxus scored all of his nine points in the second half.

Still in search of their first conference win the Eagles will begin the second of four round-robin conference stints Tuesday on the road against the Salt Lake Community College Bruins. The first meeting between the two teams resulted in a 73-72 loss for the Eagles.