TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (January 10, 2018) - Betsy Specketer's Salt Lake Community College Bruins know a thing or two about how to be successful.

The Bruins know success begins with fundamentals like rebounding and defense, is developed with team chemistry and trust, and is finished off with a steady dose of competitive drive. All of those things create a team that can have success; however, it is the successful team that understands how important each game is, especially games in the uber-competitive Scenic West Athletic Conference.

Salt Lake opened its SWAC season at 1-0 with a 62-56 victory over USU Eastern Saturday, starting what it hopes will be a successful run through league play the right way. However, this week's challenges bring a stiffer test for Salt Lake, as No. 22 College of Southern Idaho visits the Wasatch Front Thursday and a road test against No. 23 Snow College awaits the Bruins Saturday.

All-in-all, Specketer noted the Bruins will have stiff tests as they face this weekend's schedule in one of America's toughest conferences.

"Getting the win at USU Eastern was huge," she said. "I'm not sure people realize how hard it is to get a road win in the Scenic West. Now the roles are reversed and we need to work hard to defend our home court against a very talented and tough CSI squad."

Southern Idaho is, like Salt Lake, a program that is accustomed to winning and the Golden Eagles have continued their winning ways at an impressive clip in the 2017-18 season, earning a 15-3 record in the preseason. In spite of all this success, Southern Idaho fell 69-66 to Snow in their SWAC home opener Saturday, potentially fueling a fire for CSI to improve its performance. Adding that extra something to Southern Idaho's potent offense, averaging 83.4 points a game, equates to a strong competitor traveling to Bruin Arena Saturday.

"Some of our best and most competitive games have been against the Eagles," she said. "It's always a grind against them."

Saturday's travel to Ephraim will bring no easier road for the Bruins, who will face off against Snow College. The Badgers sit at 14-4 on the year, off to a 1-0 league start thanks to the win over Southern Idaho. 

Specketer said she expects a strong challenge from Snow on the road, but noted her team will wait for that challenge till Friday.

"Our focus will be on getting a win on Thursday," she said with a smile," and worry about preparing for Snow College on Friday."

Thursday's league home opener against Southern Idaho will tip at 5:30 p.m., with live game coverage on live.ksl.com. Live stats will also be available at www.slccbruins.com. Saturday's game at Snow College is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start.