Posted: Jan 09, 2026
SMCC Men's Basketball Fends Off SCC to Post 68-65 Road Victory
South Mountain Community College
(14-2, 4-1)
68
Scottsdale Community College
65
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
South Mountain Community College (14-2, 4-1) | 33 | 35 | 68 |
|
Scottsdale Community College | 34 | 31 | 65 |
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College men's basketball team (14-2, 4-1 ACCAC Division II) held off a late rally from Scottsdale CC to secure a 68-65 road win on Jan. 7. Freshmen Travis Vasquez, Semajay James, and Eric Butler hit key free throws down the stretch, and Vasquez led SMCC with 13 points as the Cougars took sole possession of second in the ACCAC Division II standings.
Leading by seven with 90 seconds to play, the Fighting Artichokes chipped away at the lead and got it down to two on a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play. From there, Vasquez, James, and Butler made crucial free throws to seal the victory. SCC attempted a half-court heave to send the game into overtime, but it was off target.
SCC led 34-33 at halftime, but SMCC won the second half 35-31. The Cougars shot 40.7 percent (22-54) and made 19 of 31 free throws (61.3 percent), adding 39 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 steals.
"Give credit to SCC because they played extremely hard. We can't blow an 11-point lead with four minutes to go. We've got to be better with our execution down the stretch," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "I thought we did a solid job defensively. Road wins are always tough to come by in the ACCAC, so we will take it. We have to quickly turn our focus to a talented MCC squad at their place Saturday."
Vasquez came off the bench to shoot 4 of 11 overall, 2 of 4 from three, with five assists, three steals, and three rebounds in 32 minutes.
Sophomores Blake Carabio and Parker Escalante each scored 10. Escalante added two steals, one rebound, and one assist in 15 minutes. Carabio finished with four rebounds, two threes, and an assist in 20 minutes.
Freshman Jadden Jones led SMCC with nine defensive rebounds, three points, one steal, and one assist in 31 minutes. James had eight points, seven rebounds (five offensive), three assists, and three steals in 20 bench minutes.
Freshman I'yar Shadowvine had nine points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal in 37 minutes, and Butler finished with six points and three rebounds in eight minutes.