(Danville, IL) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (33-1) stayed alive in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament and will play in the final game of the season.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 2 Palm Beach State College 80-79 in the final seconds. The Aztecs will play in the fifth place consolation final on Saturday.
The Aztecs trailed 77-70 with 2:52 left and closed out the game on a 10-2 run. Sophomore Mason Hunt (Bradshaw Mountain HS) tied the game with a three-pointer to make it 79-79 with 20.8 seconds left.
Sophomore Taevean Famutimi-Brown chased after a loose ball and was fouled with 0.5 seconds on the clock. He made the first free throw and missed the second as time expired.
The Aztecs trailed for much of the second half as Hunt hit back-to-back three-point shots to cut the deficit to 56-55 but the Panthers (33-3) followed with a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 69-57 with 7:12remaining.
The Aztecs got back into the game with a 9-0 run as Famutimi-Brown and Hunt scored all the points but Pima continued to trail at 69-66 with 5:04 left.
The Aztecs took their biggest lead in the first half at 26-16. Later, sophomore Isaac Johnson’s two straight scores made it 37-30, but the Panthers closed out the half on an 8-0 run. The Aztecs fell behind 38-37 at the break.
Hunt finished with a team-high 23 points as he was 4-for-12 from the field, 3-for-7 from three-point range and 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Brock Mendoza posted his second straight double-double as he finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Johnson went 7-for-7 from the field with 17 points to go with four rebounds and two blocks.
Freshman Will Feagles (Notre Dame Prep) scored eight points while Famutimi-Brown added seven points off the bench.
The Aztecs shot 43.6 percent from the field (24-for-55) and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (27-for-33). There were five ties and seven lead changes in the game.
The Aztecs will play No. 1 seeded Des Moines Area Community College on Saturday in the fifth place consolation final. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (CDT); 12:00 p.m. (MST).
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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