(Danville, IL) The Pima Community College men’s basketball season came to an end on Friday at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The No. 9 seeded Aztecs fell to No. 10 St. Clair County Community College 80-70 in the seventh-place consolation bracket semifinals.
The Aztecs took a 61-51 lead with 9:54 left in the game after freshman Gabe Oldham made a pair of free throws. The Skippers went on a 16-3 run in almost five minutes to take the lead at 67-64 with 5:09 remaining. Freshman Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS) ended the run with a jumper, but the Skippers came back with a three-pointer. The Aztecs did not have a field goal in the final 4:56 of the game as they went 6 for 8 from the foul line.
The Aztecs trailed 23-22 with 8:19 left in the first half but went on an 8-0 run in three minutes to take a 30-23 advantage. The Aztecs led 40-33 at the break. Gonzales drew three fouls in the first four and a half minutes, but sophomores Yahir Garcia (Tucson Magnet HS) picked up the slack. Garcia went 2 for 4 from downtown with six points Moses Demalek (Paradise Valley HS) scored five straight points at the halfway point of the first half to tie the game and give Pima the lead.
Sophomore Dillan Baker (Salpointe Catholic HS) led the way with 17 points as he finished 6 for 19 from the field. He also grabbed four rebounds.
Sophomore Jaylen Alexander posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with two assists and one block. Oldham scored 13 points and had eight rebounds as he went 4 for 8 from the field. Gonzales contributed with eight points.
The Aztecs close out the 2023-24 season with a 29-6 overall record and their first Region I, Division I Championship since 2018-19. It’s their most wins in a season since the 2018-19 season when they went 29-7. They went 18-1 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium. The Aztecs went 18-4 in ACCAC conference, which tied their best conference record since the 2017-18 season.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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