(Danville, IL) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (34-0) is heading to its first NJCAA Division II National Semifinal since 2018 as it advanced after a thrilling contest with Davidson-Davie Community College (30-4).
The No. 1 seeded Aztecs bested the No. 8 seeded Storm 86-82 in the National Quarterfinals. The Storm came into the game winning 12 of their last 13 games.
The Aztecs never surrendered their lead, but the Storm kept it close.
Cohenj Gonzales/Photos by Thomas Marriage NJCAA
Sophomore Gabe Oldham fouled out with 2:03 left in the game as Pima led 78-76. Sophomore Wes Ball (Marana HS) grabbed a defensive rebound and scored on the other end with an assist from sophomore Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS). Then freshman Mason Hunt (Bradshaw Mountain HS) drew the foul and scored to make it 82-76 with 1:23 remaining. The Storm’s best defensive player Ethan English fouled out on the play. He finished with 22 points.
The Storm cut Pima’s lead to two points with a basket and a pair of free throws to make it 82-80 with 22.3 seconds left. The trio of Gonzales, sophomore Kota Benson (Mesa HS) and sophomore Max Majerle(Arcadia HS) controlled possession, and Benson was eventually fouled and sent to the line. He hit both foul shots to put the score at 84-80 with 07.3 seconds left. The Storm scored a quick basket and fouled Ball, who drained two more free throws to seal it with 03.6 seconds on the clock.
The Aztecs had a quick start for the second straight game at the national tournament as they went up 23-7 eight minutes into the game. Gonzales scored 10 points during that stretch and Oldham added six points. The Aztecs led 25-9 but the Storm went on a 20-6 run in the six minutes to close the gap to 31-29. Pima held a 42-36 lead at halftime.
The Aztecs were up 44-40 and went on a 7-0 run to reclaim a double digit lead at 51-40. Benson scored five of those points. Up 61-51, the Storm countered with a 7-0 run of their own to make it 61-58 but Hunt converted on a three-point play to halt the run.
The Storm made it a one-point game on three occasions in the final 6:47 but could not tie or take the lead.
Gonzales scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half as he finished the game going 9 for 16 from the field and 2 for 5 from beyond the arc.
Kota Benson/Photos by Thomas Marriage NJCAA
“Coming into the game, I knew I had to take care of the ball handling, I knew there was going to be a lot more pressure,” Gonzales said. “We (Kota Benson) talked and knew we were both taking care of the ball the whole game, so we just had to take accountability of that, lock in and do better (from the first game). We knew (Davidson-Davie) was going to pressure us a lot on defense and that they were aggressive. We had to use backdoors against them, we had to out-cut and get ourselves open and couldn’t get pushed off the three-point line. We knew it was going to be physical, and we had to be physical back.”
Benson scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half as he shot 5 for 8 from the field, 2 for 3 from downtown and 5 for 6 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“Plays needed to be made in tight games like that and I was able to make shots and get my teammates involved,” Benson said about his second half contributions. “The calls that Coach (Brian) Peabody have for us is the plays that other people made. It was a good win.”
Hunt contributed in a big way off the bench for the second straight game at the national tournament as he closed it out with 17 points to go with three rebounds and three blocks. The Pima bench outscored Davidson-Davie 21-7.
Oldham was other Pima player in double figures as he finished with 14 points, seven rebounds (six offensive), three assists and three blocks.
Ball was a force on the glass despite playing in foul trouble as he had eight points and 13 rebounds. The Aztecs out-rebounded the Storm 40-26.
The Aztecs will play No. 4 seed Parkland College in the NJCAA Division II Tournament National Semifinal round on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT); 4:00 p.m. (Tucson time). The game will be live streamed on the NJCAA Network.
“It feels awesome to go to the Final Four, but we know we’re not done yet,” Gonzales said. “We want to keep it going.”
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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