(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (11-7, 5-5 in ACCAC) dominated the first half against Phoenix College (12-6, 6-4) on Wednesday but the Aztecs could not hang on in the end.
The Aztecs led by as much as 25 points in the first half but a last second shot rattled around the cylinder but didn’t drop as Pima fell 85-84.
The Aztecs led 84-82 with 25.7 seconds left but Treyvon McCray hit a three-pointer as the Bears called timeout with 4.9 seconds left. Sophomore Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) got the inbounds and put up the last second attempt.
The Aztecs came out on fire as freshman Jake Lieppert scored 14 of Pima’s 19 points to start the game. Pima went 9 for 13 from three-point range and held a 48-23 lead with 5:35 left in the half. The Bears closed out the half on a 16-6 run but the Aztecs still held a 54-39 advantage heading into the locker room.
Up 73-71, Lieppert fouled out of the game with 6:07 left and the Bears took their first lead at 74-73 with 5:42 left. With the game tied at 77-77, sophomore Jordan Robinson collected a steal and scored on the other end. Freshman Herbie Arana’s (Rio Rico HS) basket made it 81-77 with a little over two minutes remaining.
Lieppert scored a game-high 38 points as he went 10 for 19 from three-point range. He scored 27 points in the first half and was 7 for 11 from the arc. Robinson finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Smith had nine points, eight assists and five rebounds.
The Aztecs shot 41 percent from three-point range in the first half and 22 percent in the second half.
The Aztecs look to bounce back on Saturday at Glendale Community college. Tipoff is at 4:00 p.m.
PC 39 46 85
PCC 54 30 84
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics
