SMCC Men's Basketball Grinds Out Victory over Phoenix College

PHOENIX ---

The South Mountain Community College men's basketball team (10-1, 3-0 ACCAC Division II) defeated Phoenix College 62-51 in an ACCAC Division II home contest on Saturday, Dec. 6. Freshman Devone Pless came off the bench to score a season-high 15 points, sophomore Parker Escalante added 11, and freshman Blake Carabio posted nine points, eight rebounds, five steals, and three assists as the Cougars fought off a stern challenge from the pesky Bears. 

Phoenix College came out aggressively in the Cougars' conference home opener, battling back from an early 13-7 deficit to tie the game at 15-15 with about 10 minutes to play in the half. SMCC responded with seven-straight points and, after Phoenix College got to within 22-21 with six minutes left, carried a 36-30 lead into halftime. Escalante led all players with 11 points in the frame, while Pless and freshman I'yar Shadowvine had six points apiece. 

In the second half, the Bears got out to another quick start and tied the game at 38-38 with just over 16 minutes left in the game. Freshman Gak Kueth broke the deadlock and added a free throw, sophomore Brandon Mangahas scored on a lay-up, and Carabio successfully executed a traditional three-point play to put the Cougars up eight with 12 minutes left. 

The Bears closed to within six with eight minutes to go, but Pless scored four-straight to give SMCC a double-figure advantage they maintained for the rest of the victory. 

"This game perfectly sums up a rivalry game. Hats off to PC for having a great game plan to attack us on defense. It disrupted our offense at times. Once we settled in, we were able to get quality looks," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "Our defense did a lot of good things for us, and we have to continue to rely on that. Our guys have fully bought into that side of the floor. We have to turn our focus to Wednesday when we host a top-10 opponent in our building. We would love to see a packed gym for that one."

Pless finished 5 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in 25 minutes. He added three steals, two rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. He, Mangahas, and Carabio helped the SMCC bench out-score their Phoenix College counterparts 31-12, and Mangahas posted seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. 

Escalante added four rebounds, two steals, and an assist to his 11 points, and Shadowvine and freshman Travis Vasquez posted six points each. Vasquez led SMCC with five assists, while Shadowvine had an assist, a steal, and a rebound. 

Freshman Jadden Jones led SMCC with eight rebounds and added five points, one steal, and one block in 23 minutes. 

SMCC shot 34.6 percent (18 of 52) from the field and 80 percent (24 of 30) from the free-throw line. The Cougars forced 22 Bear turnovers, converting them into 25 points, and scored 10 points on the fastbreak.