Posted: Jan 11, 2026
Blake Carabio's Career-High 32 Points Leads SMCC Men's Basketball Past Mesa CC
South Mountain Community College
(15-2, 5-1)
73
Mesa Community College
(8-6, 2-4)
69
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
South Mountain Community College (15-2, 5-1) | 33 | 40 | 73 |
|
Mesa Community College (8-6, 2-4) | 30 | 39 | 69 |
PHOENIX ---
Sophomore Blake Carabio finished with a career-high 32 points and seven 3-pointers to lead the South Mountain Community College men's basketball team to a 73-69 victory at Mesa CC in an ACCAC Division II contest on Saturday, Jan. 10. Carabio scored 22 points and knocked down five 3-pointers in the second half as the Cougars improved to 15-2 overall and 5-1 in the ACCAC Division II standings. Freshman I'yar Shadowvine added 14 points, and freshman Devone Pless came off the bench to post eight points and seven rebounds in the victory.
The Thunderbirds jumped out to an early 9-4 lead and led 19-13 with nine minutes to play in the first half. A lay-up from Gak Kueth drew SMCC within four, and Carabio canned a 3-pointer to make it 21-20 with 6:24 left before halftime. Shadowvine made a pair of free throws to break a 28-28 tie, and Carabio made his second 3-pointer of the half with 46 seconds left to play to put the Cougars ahead by five. MCC got two free throws to pull within 33-30 at halftime.
MCC again had a strong start to the second half, regaining the lead with a 40-38 advantage with 17:11 to play. The Cougars tied the game, and teams traded leads with Carabio putting SMCC ahead 55-53 with 8:50 left in regulation. MCC immediately hit a 3-pointer to take a one-point lead, and led 62-59 with four minutes left after two free throws. Shadowvine drained a 3-pointer with 3:17 left to put SMCC ahead 63-62, but the Thunderbirds responded with a jump shot and free throws to reclaim a 66-63 lead with less than three minutes to play.
"We will always be happy with road wins. We opened with four of our first six league games on the road, and our guys went 4-0. This game was challenging because our opponents attempted 14 more free throws, but credit to our guys for not getting rattled and staying composed down the stretch," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "Jadden and Devone were huge for us on the glass. Blake had a monster game, and we are lucky he decided to join us. What makes coaching this group so enjoyable is that they just care about winning. We can't wait to return home to play two games in front of our fans this week."
Carabio tied the game with a 3-pointer (66-66) with less than 90 seconds left and, after an MCC free throw and lay-ups from each team, put SMCC ahead 71-69 with a 3-pointer off an assist from freshman Travis Vasquez with 17 seconds left. MCC missed a lay-up to tie the game, and Shadowvine calmly knocked down a pair of free throws with one second left to seal the victory.
Carabio was 11 of 20 from the field and 7 of 11 from downtown in 33 minutes. He added five rebounds. He is now averaging 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the field in 17 games.
Shadowvine made all seven of his free throws. He added two rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. He is averaging 13.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in 17 contests.
Pless came off the bench to shoot 4 of 6 from the floor in 18 minutes. Two of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and he added an assist, a steal, and a block.
Freshman Jadden Jones led SMCC with 11 rebounds and posted four points and a rebound in 32 minutes. The performance was his fifth with double-figure rebounds, and he is averaging a team-best 8.2 per game in 17 games.
Freshman Semajay James recorded six points and three rebounds, and Vasquez finished with a team-high five assists to go with three points, a rebound, and a steal.