(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball season came to an end on Friday at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
The No. 1 seeded Aztecs fell to No. 2 Scottsdale Community College 90-69 in the NJCAA Region I, Division II Championship Game.
The Aztecs started off the game scoring nine of the first 10 points. Sophomore Pablo Gutierrez (Sabino HS) hit a three-pointer to make it 12-7 but from there the Artichokes went on a 12-0 run to take the lead at 19-12. It turned into a 29-7 run as Scottsdale led 36-19. The Aztecs countered with an 8-0 run to cut it to single digits at 36-27 capped off with sophomore Traivar Jackson’s basket. The Artichokes produced a 9-0 run to retake the double-digit lead back at 46-27. The Aztecs trailed 48-32 at halftime.
Freshman Dillan Baker (Salpointe Catholic HS) converted on a three-point play to cut into Scottsdale’s lead at 52-40 with 17:45 left on the clock. Freshman Jaylen Alexander cut it to a 12-point differential once again at 73-61 with 7:25 remaining but the Aztecs could not get any closer. The Artichokes went on a 9-1 run in three minutes to make it 82-62 with 4:35 left.
Jackson finished with a team-high 23 points to go along with six rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks.
Baker went for 14 points and five rebounds while sophomore Cesar Saenz (Sabino HS) added 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Alexander and freshman Mike Pope each posted eight points and eight rebounds.
The Aztecs went 27 for 70 (.386) from the field and were 6 for 24 from three-point range.
The Aztecs and the Artichokes had split their regular season head-to-head meetings. Pima won 98-84 at the Aztec Gym on Dec. 7 and lost at Scottsdale CC 90-80 on Feb. 1.
The Aztecs finished with a 25-7 overall record and 16-6 in ACCAC conference play (most wins in a season since 2018-19 in both cases). They finished with a 17-2 record at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
SCC 48 42 90
PCC 32 37 69
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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