(Danville, IL) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team closed out the 2025-26 season on Saturday with another big win in consolation bracket play at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs upset No. 1 seed Des Moines Area Community College (IA) 98-81 to finish in fifth place at the tournament. The Aztecs beat the top 2 seeded teams in consolation play. They toppled No. 2 Palm Beach State College 80-79 on Friday.
The Aztecs fell behind 54-49 as it proved to be the largest lead for the Bears (33-3). The Aztecs responded by holding Des Moines Area without a field goal for over eight minutes as they went on a 25-2 run to go up 74-56. Freshman Isaiah Hill (Premier Prep Academy) scored 11 points during that stretch while sophomores Mason Hunt (Bradshaw Mountain HS) and Isaac Johnson each scored six points.
The Aztecs took their biggest lead of the game after Hunt hit a three-pointer and Johnson’s basket made it 81-59 (22 points) with 7:06 left in the game. The Bears could not close it to single digits.
The Aztecs and the Bears went back and forth in the first half as it featured five ties and nine lead changes. Freshman Will Feagles (Notre Dame Prep) tied the game on two occasions down the stretch at 32-32 and 35-35. The Aztecs trailed 47-45 at halftime and went on to outscore the Bears 53-34 in the second half.
Hunt scored a game-high 31 points as he went 10-for-16 from the field, 5-for-10 from three-point range and 6-for-8 at the free throw line. He was named to the NJCAA Division II All-Tournament team. He averaged 26.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in the last four games at the tournament. He shot 48.4 percent (30-for-62) from the field, 43.8 percent (14-for-32) from three-point range and 88.6 percent (31-for-35) from the free throw line.
Hill finished with 24 points as he also went 10-for-16 from the field to go along with eight assists, four rebounds and five steals. He was named the Jack Cistriano Best Small Man Award recipient. He averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game at Nationals.
Johnson scored 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two blocks and Feagles finished with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Aztecs closed out the season with a 35-1 overall for the second straight season. Hunt, Johnson and fellow sophomores Brock Mendoza and Mason Tippett (Cienega HS) closed out their Pima careers with a record of 70-2 in regular season, Region I Playoffs and NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances as part of the active roster. They were 46-0 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium and 36-0 in ACCAC conference play the last two years.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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