(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s basketball team (23-6, 16-5 in ACCAC) grabbed seven offensive rebounds in its game against Phoenix College (14-15, 9-12) but none more important than the final two in the game helped seal the win on Saturday.
The No. 13 ranked Aztecs defeated the Bears 107-102 to close out their regular season home schedule as the Aztecs have won eight of their last nine games.
Down 96-95 with 5:52 left, the Aztecs went on a 9-0 run to take a 104-96 lead with two and half minutes left. The Bears scored six straight points to make it a one possession game at 104-102.
Sophomore Abram Carrasco (Cholla HS) missed a three-pointer but grabbed his own offense rebound to give Pima a fresh 30 seconds on the shot clock. He missed another corner three-pointer but sophomore Robert Wilson (Salpointe Catholic HS) boxed out his defender and grabbed an offensive rebound with under a minute left. Freshman Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) converted 1 of 2 free throws to make it 105-102 with 15.3 seconds left.
The Bears missed a three-point shot attempt and sophomore Kennedy Koehler grabbed the defensive rebound. He hit two free throws to seal it.
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The Aztecs and the Bears traded the lead 14 times and the score was tied on 13 occasions.Pima trailed 61-53 at halftime and outscored the Bears 54-41 in the second half.
Carrasco scored a game-high 41 points on 14 for 21 shooting and 6 for 8 from three-point range. He passed Murphy Gershman (Tucson HS) for second on the Pima all-time scoring list. He now has 1,211 points and needs 30 points to surpass Greg Cook (1,240).
Wilson picked up his 14th double-double of the season as he finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Koehler posted 17 points and eight rebounds while sophomore Davonte Eason (Tucson HS) scored 12 points on 5 for 6 shooting off the bench. Freshman Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) contributed with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks.
The Aztecs split their meetings with the Bears. Pima lost 111-96 last month in Phoenix.
The Aztecs recognized its five sophomores before the game: Team manager Joe Gutierrez (Cienega HS), Carrasco, Wilson, Davonte Eason and Koehler.
The Aztecs will close out the regular season on Tuesday when they play at Glendale Community College. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The Aztecs have locked up the No. 1 seed for the NJCAA Region I, Division II Tournament in two weeks.
PC 61 41 102
PCC 53 54 107
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