TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (October 31, 2019) - The No. 13 Salt Lake Community College men's basketball team has gone through recruiting, offseason workouts and preseason training. And after all of the preparation, games have finally come for the Bruins.

SLCC will open the 2019-20 season under new head coach Kyle Taylor on Friday in a preseason game against Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. The game will serve as the first of a two-game road trip that will conclude with a matchup against Central Arizona College on Saturday.

After all of the buildup and hype for the season, Taylor said the preseason training finished well for his team.

"Preseason finished up well for our inexperienced team," he said. "Playing a number of games over the past three weekends really gave our team a chance to learn about themselves and for us as coaches to evaluate our roster."

Both Chandler-Gilbert and Central Arizona will provide good tests for the Bruins in their opening games. Chandler-Gilbert finished at 17-14 in the 2018-19 season, going 11-11 in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. Central Arizona went 10-20 with a mark of 8-14 in league play.

Taylor said his team is looking forward to the opportunity to compete this weekend.

"With the season openers this week, I'm looking for our team to continue to focus on getting better," he said. "That is the most important thing right now for our team, to come to practice every day ready to work and improve. We need to develop better team chemistry and trust on the court. We also need to play for one another and compete every single possession. That is what this weekend is about for our team and program."

Salt Lake will play Chandler-Gilbert at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, with a 2:00 p.m. matchup with Central Arizona on Saturday. The Bruins will play in a four-game Region 9/18 challenged tournament in Salt Lake on Nov. 8-9 inside the Lifetime Activities Center.