(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (14-3, 6-3 in ACCAC) dropped its second straight game on Saturday in an ACCAC conference matchup at Arizona Western College (14-5, 7-2).
The No. 12 ranked Aztecs (Division II) trailed for much of the game and fell to the Matadors (Division I) 97-88.
Down 80-78 with 4:26 left, the Aztecs gave up an 11-2 run in three and half minutes as Arizona Western took a 91-80 advantage with 55.3 seconds left. The Aztecs got two points off free throws during that stretch. Freshman Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS) converted on a three-point play to cut it to 93-86 but the Matadors went 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final 34.5 seconds.
The Aztecs came out of a time trailing 59-52 with 14:39 left. Gonzales scored a basket on the ensuing possession and freshman Kota Benson (Mesa HS) knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Aztecs a 60-59 lead with 13:07 remaining. Pima would take one more lead off sophomore Dillan Baker’s (Salpointe Catholic HS) score to put it at 62-61, but the Matadors countered with an 8-0 run in two minutes to take it back at 69-62 with 10:34 left. The Aztecs got as close as one point at 71-70 but could not tie or take the lead.
The Matadors had an 11-2 run in the first half to take their biggest lead of the game at 35-23. Trailing 38-27, the Aztecs put together an 11-2 run of their own as freshman Gabe Oldham scored on back-to-back possessions, Baker had four points and Benson hit three free throws to cut it to 40-38. Pima trailed 43-40 at halftime.
Oldham finished with a double-double and team-highs of 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He was 10 for 12 from the field.
Baker added 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Sophomore Moses Demalek went 6 for 8 shooting and finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. Gonzales also added 13 points as well as three assists and two rebounds.
Benson netted 13 points off the bench as he was 3 for 5 from three-point range. He also had three rebounds and two assists.
The Aztecs will hit the road next Saturday when they play at Mesa Community College. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.
PCC 40 48 88
AWC 43 54 97
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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