Pima Community College sophomore Max Majerle, son of former Phoenix Suns great Dan Majerle, made a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give the No. 6 Aztecs a 95-92 win Sunday over Glendive (Mont.) Dawson Community College in the Aztec Holiday Classic.
Max Majerle collected the defensive board, brought the ball up court and shot a 3-pointer at the top of the key that banked into the basket.
Dawson called timeout with 0.7 seconds left. It could not get a shot off thanks to the defense of Cohenj Gonzales after a half-court pass on the ensuing inbounds.
Pima, an NJCAA Division II program that improved to 14-0, will play the last game of the round-robin tournament Monday at 2 p.m. against No. 4 Salt Lake City Community College (a Division I school that is 12-2) at the Aztec West Gym.
The game with Dawson was tug-of-war contest that featured 15 ties and 27 lead changes. Neither team held a double-digit advantage.
The Aztecs trailed 91-88 with 2:21 left in the game when sophomore Wes Ball (Marana) got a feed under the basket from fellow sophomore Gabe Oldham for the score.
With 39.9 seconds left, the Pima defense forced a turnover on the inbounds play.
Ball scored again under the basket after keeping the possession alive with two offensive rebounds to put the Aztecs up 92-91 with 12.5 seconds left.
The Buccaneers drew a foul on Gonzales, a sophomore, with 6.8 seconds left.
They converted on the first free throw but missed the second attempt.
Max Majerle then made his thrilling game-winning 3-pointer.
Another angle of Max Majerle’s game-winner. Video by Uriah Burrell.#PimaBasketball #AztecTOUGH pic.twitter.com/JLUPxXVgBV
— PimaAthletics (@PimaAthletics) December 30, 2024
Pima’s biggest lead of the game was 24-17 with 8:02 left in the first half.
Dawson’s biggest lead was 55-47 at the 16:32 mark in the second half.
Gonzales’ 3-pointer capped a 10-2 run to tie the game at 57-57 with 14:22 left.
Ball finished the game with a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds. He went 11 for 14 from the field and 5 for 7 from the free-throw line.
Gonzales was 7 for 14 from the floor and 4 for 8 from beyond the arc as he posted 19 points along with seven assists.
Freshman Mason Hunt had 15 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Max Majerle closed out the game with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists while sophomore Kota Benson (former Baboquivari standout who ended his high school career at Mesa) added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
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