Mesa, AZ – A fast start from No. 8 Indian Hills Men's Basketball carried the Warriors to an opening round victory at the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout on Monday. Indian Hills topped New Mexico Junior College 68-56 at Theo Heap Gymnasium on the Mesa Community College campus.

Monday's victory pits the Warriors in the semifinal round of the prominent junior college tournament against No. 1 nationally ranked and undefeated Salt Lake Community College (UT) in one of the most anticipated matchups of the year. The Bruins topped Glendale Community College (AZ) 117-80 in the opening game Monday afternoon. The top-10 showdown will commence at 9:00 PM CST/ 8:00 PM MST Tuesday night.

Taking part in "America's Best Junior College Invitational Tournament" for the second time in program history, the Warriors were led once again by freshman Enoch Kalambay (Gatineau, Canada/Orangeville Prep) who poured in a game-high 20 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Kalambay finished the night 8-12 from the floor, including 3-6 from three-point range. Kalambay has now reached double-figures in five consecutive games, including 20 or more in three of the team's last four contests.

Sophomore Isaiah Marin (Phoenix, AZ/New Mexico) filled the stat sheet with 10 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals to pace the Warriors. Braxton Bayless (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) came off the bench to add nine points for the Warriors. Bayless knocked down a pair of free throws and has now made 21 of his last 22 free throw attempts, including 10 straight.

Playing for the first time in 16 days, the Warriors jumped ahead right from the tip with a 15-2 lead. Three different Warriors connected on a three-ball to build the early for Indian Hills. New Mexico clawed its way back into a single-digit deficit, but the Warriors maintained a comfortable margin and went into halftime with a 35-26 edge. Kalambay and Bayless combined for 18 of the team's first half points while eight different Warriors found the scoring column in the opening 20 minutes.

A layup from Marin at the 10:58 mark of the second half put the Warriors back up by 13, 47-34. The lead continued to build the rest of the way as a three from Kalambay with 2:06 to play gave the Warriors its largest lead of the night, 64-43 as Indian Hills carried out the opening round win.

The win marks the fourth consecutive victory at the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout for the Warriors. Indian Hills went 3-0 and won the championship in 2017 under head coach Hank Plona.

Tuesday night's matchup against Salt Lake pairs the top two ranked teams from the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball poll. Fans can catch the semifinal matchup live via GoHillsTV.