EPHRAIM — Ryan Brimley earned a reputation in high school as a deadly outside shooter. And while he carried that trait with him to Snow College, his old high school nickname, "Heat Check," didn't come along for the ride.
"Some of the guys know me as that, but I don't get the crowd to say it," Brimley said. "I don't know if they know it."
Perhaps one reason why is Brimley has become so much more than the spot-up shooter he was at Hillcrest.
During his time in a Badger uniform, Brimley has added other dimensions to his game. He has learned to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket more. He also mixes in a greater number of mid-range jumpers with his customary three-pointers.
It has paid off. Brimley is Snow's leading scorer with 12.8 points per game. Aside from injured forward Rory Patterson and fellow Hillcrest alum Donnie Lao, he is the only Badger player to average double figures this season.
"I obviously have to be more diverse," Brimley said. "I have to be able to get to the hole. I have to be able to score inside. Just being a normal shooter, it's kind of hard to score in this league."
It has taken awhile for opposing defenses to pick up on him, but more teams are starting to take note of Brimley in their game plans. It is not uncommon to see him to fight through two or more defenders just to get Snow's offense going.
"In our conference games, he's got someone inside his shirt all the time," Badgers coach Michael Ostlund said. "To get that kind of attention gives you an idea of the offensive weapon he is."
Brimley's contributions haven't gone unnoticed. He has sparked recent interest from several local and regional NCAA schools.
Weber State, Utah Valley and SUU have shown interest locally. Out-of-state, he is being courted by Wyoming, Portland State, UC-Irvine and Northern Arizona.
This surge of interest in Brimley has not surprised Ostlund in the least bit.
"If you can come into our league and have some success, the Division I schools really see that," Ostlund said. "It's a proving ground in a lot of ways."
GRIFFINS EARN ROAD SPLIT: Westminster celebrated the team's first ever No. 1 ranking by claiming a rare road victory over Carroll College last Thursday. The Griffins escaped with a 75-73 overtime victory over the 13th ranked Saints when Geoff Payne stole the ball and hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
Payne totaled 33 points in helping Westminster snap a five game losing streak in Helena.
Good fortune did not continue on the second half of the road swing. The Griffins suffered a 78-65 loss to unranked Rocky Mountain College after the Bears rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 10 1/2 minutes.
Westminster hit its first 10 shots of the second half to take a 56-46 lead and shot 64 percent from the floor overall after halftime. But the Griffins also committed 14 turnovers in the face of an effective press by Rocky Mountain.
Payne lead the way again, scoring 25 points. The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for Westminster (19-2, 5-1). The Griffins will try to get back on track when they host Lewis-Clark State at Behnken Fieldhouse this Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
NEW MASCOT TO BE INTRODUCED: Dixie State will unveil a new nickname and mascot at halftime of the men's basketball game against Notre Dame de Namur this evening.
Dixie scrapped its old Rebels moniker last year in an effort to dissociate itself from the negative racial connotations that it previous nickname and mascot carried. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans began voting online last August to select a new nickname.
Monikers Blazers, Coyotes, Pioneers, Ragin' Red, Rattlers, Red Devils, Red Hawks, Red Storm, Roadrunners and Scorpions were all under consideration during the nomination process.
E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com