SMCC Men's Hoops Hosts Mesa CC in ACCAC Division II Action

PHOENIX ---

The (RV) South Mountain Community College men's basketball team hosts Mesa CC in ACCAC play at 7:30 p.m. in The Cougar Den on Wednesday, Feb, 4, in an ACCAC Division II conference game. 

Game No. 24

(RV) South Mountain CC (19-4, 8-3 ACCAC)

vs. Mesa CC (11-8, 5-6 ACCAC)

February 4, 2026 | 7:30 PM MST | Phoenix, AZ | The Cougar Den

Media: CLICK HERE for the free video live stream

Probable Starters:

(RV) South Mountain CC Projected Starters

G – I'yar Shadowvine, 5-8, FR, Tacoma, WA

G – Travis Vasquez, 6-3, RS FR, Glendale, AZ

W – Jadden Jones, 6-2, FR, Glendale, AZ

W – Devone Pless, 6-5, FR, Chandler, AZ

F – Dylan Eaddy, 6-5, FR, Atlanta, GA

Mesa CC Projected Starters

G – Ziair Finch, 6-2, FR, Douglasville, GA

G – Denali McNeal, 6-2, FR, Litchfield Park, AZ

F – Ezias Steffen, 6-5, FR, Phoenix, AZ

F – Tyreek Dean, 6-5, SO, Leesville, LA

F – Kashar Benton, 6-9, SO, Chicago, IL

Up Next: Away vs. Chandler-Gilbert Community College | Saturday, February 7 | 4:00 pm MST | Chandler, AZ | The Coyote Center

Last Time Out

The Cougars defeated Scottsdale CC 85-75 in an ACCAC Division II contest on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the SMCC Gym. Sophomore Blake Carabio led SMCC with 24 points and tied a season high with seven 3-pointers, while sophomore Parker Escalante and freshman I'yar Shadowvine poured in 16 apiece as the Cougars recorded an important league victory over the Fighting Artichokes.

The Coaches

Cory Hoff enters his first season at the helm of the Cougar program. Hoff takes over the program after serving the past two years as Associate Head Coach at New Mexico Military Institute, a NJCAA DI program located in Roswell, New Mexico. During Hoff's Career, his programs have achieved a NAIA DI National Championship, two Conference Tournament Championships, one Regular Season Championship, seven Playoff Appearances, 23 Top 25 wins, four All-Americans, 19 All-Conference awards and 14 professionals. Hoff is 1-0 against Mesa CC.

Dennis Coleman is 11-8 serving as Interim Head Coach at Mesa Community College with a 5-6 record in ACCAC play. Coleman is 0-1 against South Mountain CC.

Cougar Stat Leaders

Points: Blake Carabio (15.0 PPG), I'yar Shadowvine (12.8 PPG), Travis Vasquez (12.1 PPG)

Rebounds: Jadden Jones (7.4 RPG), Semajay James (6.5 RPG), Devone Pless (4.7 RPG)

Assists: Travis Vasquez (4.1 APG), Semajay James & I'yar Shadowvine (2.5 APG)

Thunderbird Stat Leaders

Points: Denali McNeal (15.6 PPG), Tyreek Dean (14.9 PPG), Ezias Steffen (14.2 PPG)

Rebounds: Tyreek Dean (7.2 RPG), Kashar Benton (6.3 RPG), Mike Alexander (5.2 RPG)

Assists: Kaden Gollhuir (3.4 APG), Ezias Steffen (2.8 APG), Denali McNeal (2.5 APG)

Watch Live & Stats

Video webcasts for all of SMCC's home games are available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/southmountaincc/ on Game Day. Game Previews will be posted prior to game day & Game Recaps will be posted after the conclusion of each contest on www.SMCCCougars.com.

Tough Scheduling

SMCC MBB will play 18 conference games against ACCAC opponents, which is one of the toughest conferences in the country. Additionally, SMCC has scheduled five non-conference games against NJCAA DI opponents with College of Southern Nevada, Community Christian College (2x), Miles Community College and Yavapai College on the schedule.

ACCAC Play

The ACCAC DII is made up of 7 programs. Each team plays 18 conference games during the season. Last season saw Pima Community College take home the ACCAC Regular Season & Region 1 Championships. Chandler-Gilbert CC, Glendale CC and South Mountain CC joined them in qualifying for the Region 1 Playoffs.