No. 5 Pima CC Edges South Mountain CC Men's Hoops 51-50

The South Mountain Community College men's basketball team came within a final shot at the buzzer, but ultimately fell 51-50 to No. 5 Pima CC in an ACCAC Division II contest in Tucson on Saturday, Jan. 24. Freshman Travis Vasquez led SMCC with 11 points and freshman Devone Pless added 10 as the Cougars fell to 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the ACCAC Division II standings.

 

Trailing 49-46 after an Aztec basket with 2:52 to go, freshman I'yar Shadowvine connected on a jump shot with 1:53 left to pull SMCC within 49-48. A Pima CC lay-up with just over 90 seconds left re-established the three-point lead, but Vasquez made a pair of free throws with 75 seconds to go to pull SMCC within 51-50.

 

The Cougar defense forced a turnover with 17 seconds left, but sophomore Blake Carabio's 3-pointer clanged off the rim at the end of regulation to deny the Cougar comeback.

 

"That was two elite defenses going at each other, and credit to Pima because they got the stop at the end when it mattered most. I appreciate our guys for battling and giving themselves a chance to win," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "Things got sideways for about four minutes in the second half that really flipped the momentum. Our execution has to be better down the stretch, and that starts with me putting them in a better position to be successful. Great teams find a way to win in the end, and we just aren't there yet. We will keep improving and learn from this. We are down to the home stretch with only nine more games left in the regular season. We want to be playing our best basketball in March, and we will continue moving towards that."

 

SMCC finished at 35.8 percent (19 of 53) from the field and totaled 27 rebounds, six assists, and 12 steals in the loss.

 

Vasquez was 3 of 8 from the field and made a 3-pointer in 28 minutes. He added five rebounds and a steal. Pless was 4 of 10 from the floor with five rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 32 minutes.

 

Freshman Jadden Jones posted eight points, two steals, and one rebound in 21 minutes, while freshman Semajay James had five points, eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 26 minutes.

 

Freshman Dylan Eaddy finished with six points, and sophomore Parker Escalante totaled six points, two steals, and an assist in 18 minutes. Shadowvine produced four points, three steals, two rebounds, and an assist in 28 minutes.

 

SMCC led 32-23 at halftime behind seven points from Pless. The team made four 3-pointers in the frame and held Pima CC to 33.3 percent (9 of 27) shooting in the half.