TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (January 9, 2020) – Entering this week, the Salt Lake Community College men's basketball team understood the challenge that lay ahead, facing two longtime rivals.
 
The first part of the week finished with a successful result for the Bruins, as Salt Lake defeated the College of Southern Idaho, 84-71, in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game on Thursday. The win boosts SLCC's overall record to 16-4 and 2-0 in league play.

In a game where Salt Lake trailed at halftime, the Bruins responded with a massive 48-31 performance in the second half to earn the league victory over a longtime national power. The Bruins' offensive success made the difference as the team followed up a tough first-half performance with a 66.67 percent (20-of-50) shooting performance in the second half. Salt Lake's 42-18 edge in points-in-the-paint also made a considerable difference. 
 
SLCC coach Kyle Taylor said the win was another positive effort for his program. 
 
"We had a terrific second half from our guys," he said. "We cleaned up our offense, got better shots and made some of them. Our defense stepped up, too, and we rebounded the ball when we needed to. 

I'm very happy for our players. We have a long ways to go in the SWAC, but this was a good first step."

The Bruins finished with five double-digit scorers, starting with Justice Hill and his 20 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Asa McCord posted 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Matt Gray finished with 12 points. Ed Chang and Spencer Johnson both finished with 10 points. 
 
Salt Lake will play at in-state rival Snow College at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.