(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (10-0, 5-0 in ACCAC) took control in the second half of its game on Wednesday at Mesa Community College (4-8, 1-4) and scored in the triple digits for the sixth time this season.
The No. 7 ranked Aztecs outscored the Thunderbirds 58-41 in the second half on their way to a 103-74 victory for their 10th straight win of the season.
The Aztecs outscored Mesa 15-4 in the final 3:12 of the game to help seal it.
The Aztecs led 52-35 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Thunderbirds went on an 11-2 run to cut Pima’s lead to single digits at 54-46. The Aztecs countered with sophomore Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS), who drained a pair of three-pointers and fellow sophomore Max Majerle (Arcadia HS), who scored five straight points to cap off a 14-3 run to make it 68-49. Mesa would cut Pima’s advantage to 14 points at 78-64 but wouldn’t get any closer.
The Aztecs took the lead for good in the first half when they put together a 13-2 run with Gonzales scoring eight of those points to go up 30-21. Pima held a 45-33 lead at halftime.
Gonzales led the way with a team-high 24 points to go with seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Mason Hunt (Bradshaw Mountain HS) finished with 20 points as he flirted with a double-double, grabbing eight rebounds.
Majerle scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half while fellow sophomore Kota Benson (Mesa HS) added 11 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Freshmen Kaelum Brown (Casteel HS) and Brigg Wolfe (Mesa Mountain View HS) each scored nine points.
The Aztecs will step away from ACCAC conference play to face off against UTU Academy on Saturday at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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