(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team fell short in claiming its fourth straight NJCAA Region I, Division II crown.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs fell to No. 2 seeded Glendale Community College 105-96 as the Aztecs close out their season at 19-13 overall.
The Aztecs trailed by as much as 22 points at 62-40 early in the second half but slowly began to chip away with short runs. Down 87-80, and coming out of a timeout, the Aztecs went on a 6-0 run to cut it to a one-point deficit at 87-86 with 4:06 left.
The Aztecs could not overtake the lead as Glendale scored the next four points. It turned into a 12-3 run for the Gauchos as they went up 99-89 with a little over a minute left.
Glendale’s Josh Johnson hit 3 of his final 4 foul shots to help seal it. He finished with 37 points.
The first half featured 11 ties and seven lead changes. With the score tied at 38-38, the Gauchos closed the half on a 16-2 run to put the Aztecs behind 54-40 at the break.
Sophomore Jordan Robinson (Tucson HS) finished with a team-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and six steals. Fellow sophomore Cole Gerken (Ironwood Ridge HS) scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half and also had six rebounds.
Sophomore Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) fell short of a triple-double as he posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Freshman Sammy Legleu (Nogales HS) added 10 points. Freshman Jake Lieppert (Saguaro HS) fouled out with 12:28 left in the second half and had nine points for the game.
The Aztecs have reached the NJCAA Region I, Division II finals for four straight years. This is the first time the Aztecs didn’t reach 20 wins since the 2015-16 season.
PCC 40 56 96
GCC 54 51 105
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics
