TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (December 26, 2021) – The No. 1 Salt Lake Community College Men's Basketball team is heading to Arizona, fresh off a holiday break.
 
SLCC is preparing to take place in the annual 'Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout' event in Phoenix, in conjunction with the Fiesta Bowl events in Arizona. As part of the tournament, the Bruins will start the tournament on Monday in a first-round matchup with Glendale Community College, then will continue in their respective brackets.
 
While the tournament is filled with a bevy of nationally-ranked competition, Salt Lake is first-and-foremost looking towards returning from a restful holiday break, according to SLCC coach Kyle Taylor.
 
"It's tough to take a week off and come back and be sharp," he said. "Our schedule is especially hard because we are meeting two-thirds of our team in Phoenix tomorrow. We'll get one practice and then play three games in three days. The good part is we've only been off a week and our guys are young, healthy, and also disciplined to stay in shape and work on their game the past week. It's tough to get your timing back, but we'll work at it and hopefully have a great week down in Phoenix."
 
As one of the West Coast's annual powers in NJCAA basketball, Salt Lake has annually been invited to the Fiesta Bowl event. However, the greatest benefit of the tournament is the experience the team has and the competition they play.
 
"This is a great event - probably the premier junior college tournament in the country - so we're fortunate to be able to play in it each year," Taylor said. "We love spending the week down in Phoenix, and Mesa takes very good care of all the teams. Like always, the field is loaded with good teams, so we'll be challenged. Tournaments like this prepare teams the most for post-season play, where you have to win to advance and you don't know who your next opponent will be."
 
Salt Lake will return to Scenic West Athletic Conference play with a Jan. 6 matchup against Snow College.