(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (26-3, 18-3 in ACCAC) closed out the home portion of its regular season schedule on Saturday against South Mountain Community College (11-18, 6-15).
The No. 14 ranked Aztecs won their 12th straight game after beating the Cougars 113-79.
Sophomore Dillan Baker (Salpointe Catholic HS) reached the 1,000-career point milestone when he drained a three-pointer near the Pima bench early in the second half to put the score at 53-42 with 18:47 left in the game. He is the fourth player under coach Brian Peabody to reach 1,000 career points as he joins Murphy Gershman, Abram Carrasco and Traivar Jackson.
Up 60-46 with 17:30 left to play, the Aztecs went on a 16-4 run that was capped by freshman Wes Ball’s (Marana HS) three-point play and Baker’s three-pointer to make it 76-50.
Baker finished with a game-high 26 points as he now has 1,011 points and counting. He went 10 for 16 from the field and 6 for 8 from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds and four assists.
Freshman Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS) finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists. He was 6 for 8 from the field and 5 for 6 from downtown.
Sophomore Night/Photo – Raymond Suarez
The front court of Ball, sophomore Jaylen Alexander and freshman Gabe Oldham helped take over the game as they combined for 47 points, 23 rebounds and 22 for 28 (.786) from the field. Ball and Alexander each scored 16 points. Ball was 7 for 11 and grabbed nine rebounds while Alexander was 8 for 10 and pulled eight board. Oldham went a perfect 7 for 7 from the field with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Sophomore Moses Demalek (Paradise Valley HS) added nine points and seven rebounds while freshman Kota Benson contributed with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Aztecs hold a one-game lead over Chandler-Gilbert Community College for the No. 1 seed in the NJCAA Region I, Division II Tournament. The Aztecs close out the regular season on Monday when they play at Eastern Arizona College (Division I) at 5:30 p.m. The Coyotes play at Yavapai College.
