TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (December 27, 2019) - The No. 23 Salt Lake Community College men's basketball team had little rust coming off a multi-week holiday break.

The Bruins opened one of junior college's strongest preseason tournaments - the 'Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout' - with a strong 66-49 win over Midland College on Friday to earn their way into the winners' bracket semifinals on Saturday at Mesa Community College. The win also helps Salt Lake advance its season record to 13-3, upping its winning streak to four games.

SLCC coach Kyle Taylor said the win was a good sign for his team after the holiday break.

"Our defense tonight was tremendous," he said. "We rebounded at a high level and guarded at a high level. I'm really proud of how we competed on the defensive end."

Salt Lake held a 32-22 halftime lead, a dominance that was told through the Bruins never trailing in the game. SLCC limited Midland to just 34 percent shooting, controlling the game through physicality and by taking advantage of mistakes. The Bruins held a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points, followed up by a 13-2 edge in fastbreak points. Salt Lake also out-rebounded Midland, 46-29. 

Justice Hill led the Bruins with 14 points, while Spencer Johnson and Matt Gray both finished with 10 points apiece. Adam Hess had 9 points off-the-bench for Salt Lake.

The Bruins will face off against New Mexico Junior College in the tournament semifinals at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. New Mexico earned a 61-54 win over host Mesa Community College in Friday's opener.