TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (March 6, 2020) - The No. 5 Salt Lake Community College men's basketball team has likely clinched a berth in the upcoming NJCAA national tournament but the Bruins aren't guaranteed entry, at least not yet.

SLCC would lock up that automatic bid with a victory this weekend, as the Bruins host Eastern Arizona in the NJCAA West District championship game on Saturday at the Lifetime Activities Center. The game, which features an automatic bid to the NJCAA tourney, will be played between the Region 18 and Region 1 champions.

After finishing an undefeated league season and an emotional Region 18 tournament last weekend, SLCC coach Kyle Taylor said he was careful to give his team time-off in preparation for this week's West District final. 

"Almost every week in conference, we've been giving our players off Sunday and Monday to rest and recover, so we did the same this week," he said. "Tuesday, it was time to get back to work and focus on our next opponent."

Eastern Arizona, who is receiving a vote in this week's NJCAA national polls, finished the regular season going 25-6 in the ACCAC. The Gila Monsters earned a 93-73 win over Arizona Western in the Region One championships last weekend.

Taylor said his team understands the challenge that exists in Eastern Arizona.

"Eastern Arizona is a very good program," he said. "They are very well coached and talented; they shoot the ball extremely well from the three-point line (almost 38 percent) and they are a good rebounding team. It'll be a battle on Saturday, with both teams fighting for a spot in the national tournament. It should be a lot of fun."

Salt Lake will play Eastern Arizona at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday inside the Lifetime Activities Center's Bruin Arena. Tickets for the event are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, faculty and staff with valid SLCC ID.