SLCC men’s basketball to play for junior college national title

Salt Lake Community College will have the chance to earn a third National Men’s Basketball Championship.

The Bruins edged Chipola 70-68 Friday night in the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament, paced by 19 points from Quincy McGriff, who hit four 3-point shots.

With the win, No. 1 seed SLCC will face No. 10 seed Northwest Florida State in the NJCAA Division I National Championship game on Saturday at 5 p.m. MDT in Hutchinson, Kansas. .

SLCC has won the National Junior College Championship twice – in 2009 and 2016.

The Bruins have won by one possession in each of their three NJCAA tournament wins so far.

On Friday, SLCC led by eight with five-and-a-half minutes to play, only to fall behind by two with just over a minute to play as Chipola made a 12-2 run.

But the Bruins got the win thanks to last-minute heroism from Jaquan Scott. Scott tied the game at 68-all on a jumper with 43 seconds left.

After Chipola missed a layup, Scott was fouled with three seconds left and hit both free throws, sending the SLCC to the championship game.

Scott had 14 points, four rebounds and two blocks for the Bruins, while former Box Elder High star Max Watson added 13 points and five rebounds and Jordan Brinson just missed a double-double with 10 points and eight passes.