Posted: Feb 19, 2026
SMCC Men's Basketball Falls to No. 4 Pima CC
Pima Community College
(28-0, 16-0 ACCAC)
77
South Mountain Community College
(23-5, 12-4 ACCAC)
65
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pima Community College (28-0, 16-0 ACCAC) | 39 | 38 | 77 |
|
South Mountain Community College (23-5, 12-4 ACCAC) | 28 | 37 | 65 |
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College men's basketball team (23-5, 12-4 ACCAC Division II) lost 77-65 to No. 4 Pima CC in an ACCAC Division II contest at the SMCC Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Freshman Travis Vasquez led the Cougars with 18 points, and freshman Devone Pless added 12. Still, the Cougars could not overcome the Aztecs' timely shooting in the loss.
SMCC led by four with just over nine minutes to play in the first half, but the Aztecs fought back to take the lead. Freshman Semajay James made a pair of free throws with 4:58 to tie the game at 28-28, but Pima CC closed the half on an 11-0 run to take a 39-28 lead into halftime.
The Cougars came out determined in the second half and shaved the deficit to 39-35 less than two minutes into the period. The Aztecs scored six-straight points to re-establish a double-figure advantage, but a 3-pointer from sophomore Blake Carabio cut the lead to 47-45 with 11:19 left to play.
However, the Aztecs built the lead back up to multiple possessions, but SMCC would not get any closer than five the rest of the way.
"Our guys battled tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't put them in a strong enough position to succeed. Our guys executed a flawed game plan, and that falls directly on me as a head coach," said SMCC head coach Cory Hoff. "They made better adjustments than we did. Anytime we allow a team to shoot over 50 percent from the floor is a recipe for disaster. There were positives to take away from this. Most importantly, we need to get healthy in a hurry. Hopefully, we have another opportunity to compete against them again in March, but we have a lot of work to do before that to make it happen."
Vasquez was 8 of 14 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers in 30 minutes. He added five rebounds and a steal. Pless went 5 of 9 from the floor with three rebounds, an assist, and a block in 34 minutes.
Carabio was third on the team with nine points, connecting on two 3-pointers in 20 minutes off the bench. He also grabbed two rebounds.
Freshman Dylan Eaddy led SMCC with six rebounds and added two points. Freshman Semajay James posted six points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 21 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Parker Escalante scored eight points and added two steals in 14 minutes, and freshman I'yar Shadowvine had eight points, two rebounds, and two steals.
