TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (January 8, 2019) - The No. 9 Salt Lake Community College men's basketball team started off Scenic West Athletic Conference play in thrilling fashion last weekend, scoring over 100 points to earn a victory over longtime rival Southern Idaho.

The stakes go up this weekend for Salt Lake, as the Bruins will travel to play at Colorado Northwestern Community College Thursday before returning home Saturday for their league home opener against in-state rival Snow College. The energy and stakes for the program will continue to go up as the weeks of the conference schedule push on, but the victory over CSI does give the program confidence moving forward.

"It was a big win for the Bruins at Southern Idaho this past weekend," SLCC coach Todd Phillips said. "It's always good when you can get a win on your rival's floor. Our guys stayed together, hit big shots down the stretch. 

"Not only did we get the first league win, but we hopefully have a win we can build upon. We know that when we move the ball, good things happen."

Salt Lake is hoping for more good things to happen this weekend, starting with a one-off road game at Colorado Northwestern on Thursday. The Spartans have opened the season at 5-12 and 0-1 in league play, thanks to a conference-opening 82-75 loss at USU Eastern. Colorado Northwestern had a four-game winning streak during the holidays, including victories over Eastern Wyoming and Western Wyoming.

As for in-state rival Snow College, the Badgers will be among the contenders in the Scenic West once again, thanks to a 15-3 record to this point of the season. Snow earned 13-consecutive victories to open the season, falling for the first time last week in the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout. The Badgers, who are ranked at No. 12 in the NJCAA polls, open league play on Thursday at Southern Idaho.

Phillips said both CNCC and Snow present difficulties that will have to be prepared for.

"Both games will be challenges for us," he said. "In our league, we have a variety of different styles. Snow really shoots it well, while CNCC likes to put it on the ground and drive the ball. We need to be up to the task for both."

Saturday's league home-opener against Snow College will start at 5:00 p.m. inside the Lifetime Activities Center. The game will be proceeded by the nationally-ranked SLCC women's team playing against Snow, with a scheduled start of 3:00 p.m.