TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (Tuesday, November 21, 2023) – Salt Lake looks to remain undefeated as they play just the third home game of the 2023-24 season.
Jordan Battle leads four Bruins in double-figures, averaging 16.6 ppg. Freshman Xavier Edmonds averages 14.9 points and a team-high 6.7 boards per game. CJ Luster is scoring 14.4 ppg and Bryce Zephir checks in at 10.4 ppg.
GAME INFORMATION
Salt Lake (7-0, 0-0 SWAC) vs. Central Wyoming (3-5)
DATE | TIME: Tuesday, Nov. 21 | 5 p.m. MT
LOCATION: Taylorsville, UT | Bruin Arena
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
TWITTER: @SLCCBruins
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch all Salt Lake Community College Athletics events at the ScenicWestNetwork.com/slcc. Listen to Bruins play-by-play analyst Brian Preece. Live stats are on SLCCBruins.com.
OPENING TIP
The Bruins look to remain undefeated as they host Central Wyoming College Rustlers (2-4) on Tuesday, November 21 at 5 p.m. MT. Salt Lake is 5-2 all-time against the Rustlers. SLCC has won the last four contests between these programs.
LAST TIME OUT
Jordan Battle beat the clock with a right-wing three that found nothing but nylon, propelling the Bruins to a 73-70 win over Florida Southwestern State College.
Xavier Edmonds helped pilot the Bruins into a tight second-half game, leading all scorers with 22 points while adding eight rebounds and four steals. CJ Luster made 7-of-13 shots on his way to 17 points.
THE BRUINS
Head coach Kyle Taylor and company have been integrating an entirely new team from last season's 29-5 squad that came up short at Hutch.
Former Utah Valley Wolverine Jordan Battle leads a team that includes six prep athletes out of Utah. Brady Smith (Green Canyon), Coen Collier (Olympus), Kevin Winsor (Lehi), Preston Squire (Layton), Mason Bendinger (Woods Cross), and Chudi Anosike (Murray), round out the Bruins local talent.
Five Bruins, including Battle, entered the season with previous college experience. Michael Folarin (Nevada), Lukas Gudavicius (Bethune Cookman), CJ Luster (Kilgore College), and Bryce Zephir (North Texas).
IN THE RANKS
Salt Lake begins the week ranked fourth in the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings. The Bruins are joined in the top-25 by SWAC schools No. 9 Snow College and No. 21 Southern Idaho.
HEAD COACH KYLE TAYLOR
In just four seasons, Taylor has posted an overall record of 113-16, earning four consecutive trips to the NJCAA Championships in Hutchinson, Kan. SLCC has earned three Region 18 titles in Taylor's tenure, also posting a trio of NJCAA Western District titles. The Bruins have also led the NJCAA in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
Taylor following the Bruins' 73-70 win over Florida Southwestern State — "Give all the credit on that last shot to Jordan. He wants the ball in crunch time, he has confidence that he's going to make every shot, and he also works really hard day in and day out to get extra shots up outside of practice. He makes shots like that all the time at practice and in shoot-around. He always throws up some last-second shot when we're bringing it in and he honestly makes almost all of them. I still can't believe he made it, but happy for him, happy for our guys, and happy for our program. That was a big win on the road in Florida against a really good FSW team."
ABOUT THE RUSTLERS
Central Wyoming comes in with a 3-5 record, riding the high of an 82-74 win over Western Nebraska Community College. The Rustlers average 78.5 points per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three. CWC opponents have made 47.8 percent of their shots and 32.8 percent from deep. Teams have averaged 77.6 points per game against Central Wyoming.
Three Rustlers average average double-digit points led by Julian Roberts' 19.8 ppg. Lorence Dela Cruz (12.8) and King Solomon (11.3) round out the high-scoring trio.
NEXT UP
The Bruins take on Laramie County Community College (3-2) on Wednesday, November 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. (MT) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Find tickets for all Salt Lake Community College events here.
FOLLOW THE BRUINS!
Fans can follow along during the 2023-24 season on social media (Twitter: @slccbruins | Instagram: @slccbruins |Facebook: www.facebook.com/bruin.athletics
