Entering the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament the No. 3 seed, the USU Eastern men’s basketball team will square off with the College of Southern Idaho in the second round at Snow College in Ephraim Friday afternoon.

“We fought to finish in the top three to save us a game, and we are very excited for the tournament,” said head coach Adjalma Becheli. “I guarantee we are at our peak right now as we speak. We know what we have to do and what CSI is going to bring to us.”

With only five teams within the SWAC, the first round of the tournament will feature No. 4 Snow College against No. 5 Colorado Northwestern on Thursday. The top three seeds automatically advance to the semifinals on Friday.

A season series sweep over Colorado, mixed with two wins over Snow, and another over Salt Lake allowed the Eagles to clinch the No. 3 seed. The only conference opponent USU Eastern failed to defeat was CSI, losing by double-digits in all three meetings.

“We are very motivated knowing that this is the only team that beat us three times this year,” said Becheli. “It’s one game, one shot. We are going into the tournament with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. If we win we know we go to the championship game, so I think we are ready.”

Potentially playing their best basketball of the year the Eagles will enter Friday’s tilt riding a two-game winning streak. After defeating Colorado Northwestern 97-59 on Thursday, the Eagles wrapped up the season with an 80-74 road win over Snow.

Live coverage of Friday’s contest will begin at 1:30 pm on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM, followed by tip-off at 2:00. The live audio feed will also be available at castlecountryradio.com.

*Photo courtesy of USU Eastern sports information*