Posted: Jan 01, 2026
Semajay James' Late Heroics Lift SMCC Men's Hoops Over Miles CC
Miles Community College
(7-11)
74
South Mountain Community College
(12-2)
76
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Miles Community College (7-11) | 45 | 29 | 74 |
|
South Mountain Community College (12-2) | 33 | 43 | 76 |
PHOENIX ---
Freshman Semajay James grabbed a loose ball and scored the winning basket just before the buzzer, lifting South Mountain Community College men's basketball to a 76-74 win over Miles CC (MT) in a non-conference game at SMCC Gym on Wednesday, Dec. 31. James' basket and free throw completed a dramatic comeback as the Cougars rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to improve to 12-2. Freshman I'yar Shadowvine led SMCC with 18 points and five assists, with three other Cougars reaching double figures.
Trailing by one point with eight seconds to play, sophomore Parker Escalante took the inbounds pass and dribbled up the right side of the court, but lost the ball in traffic near the Pioneer basket. James pounced on the loose ball and made a scooping lay-up moments before the buzzer sounded to put SMCC ahead 75-74. He added a free throw, and Miles CC was unable to get a shot off with the time remaining.
A strong second-half surge saw SMCC outscore Miles CC 43-29 after trailing 45-33 at halftime. The Pioneers opened hot with five of six early 3-pointers, building a 28-13 lead. They shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) with nine 3-pointers, while the Cougars made 34.2 percent (13 of 38) and six threes in the half.
In the second half, SMCC tightened its defense, limiting the Pioneers to 34.8 percent shooting (8 of 23) and a single 3-pointer. Offensively, the Cougars shot 37.8 percent (14 of 37), converted 10 of 11 free throws, and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to fuel their rally.
"We looked like a team that hadn't played in more than two weeks, and we didn't play to our normal defensive standard and intensity. We aren't built to win games by giving up 70 points, so we need to get that figured out," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "We were better in the second half by holding them to 29 points. After we shook off the rust, we started to play our game and found just enough to pull it out at the buzzer. We will always take a win, but we are going to need to be much better as we return to ACCAC Division II play. It was good to see offensive balance with four players in double figures."
Shadowvine led the second-half push, scoring 11 of his 18 points after halftime on three 3-pointers. He totaled 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a steal in 36 minutes.
Sophomore Blake Carabio was second on the team with 15 points, shooting 50 percent (5 of 10) from 3-point range in 25 minutes. He added three rebounds and a steal in the victory.
Escalante was third on the team with 11 points and led SMCC with four steals in 25 minutes. He added four rebounds and an assist.
Freshman Devone Pless came off the bench to post 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 24 minutes. He added seven rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass.
Freshman Jadden Jones led SMCC with nine rebounds, grabbing four offensive rebounds. He added five points, two steals, and an assist in 21 minutes.
James finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and an assist in 22 minutes off the bench. Six of his seven boards came on the offensive glass.
Freshman Travis Vasquez produced five points, six rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 25 minutes off the bench. Finally, freshman Eric Butler had two points, three rebounds, and two assists in just seven minutes off the bench.
