The crowds at Pima Community College’s West Campus Gym for the Aztec Holiday Classic the last three days were some of the largest coach Brian Peabody has seen in his 14 years as head coach of the program.
That’s what happens when a program experiences its best start in its history, improving to 15-0 after beating two of the most difficult opponents the Aztecs will face this season — Glendive (Mont.) Dawson Community College and Salt Lake Community College, both NJCAA Division I powers whereas Pima is Division II.
The 92-75 victory Monday over Salt Lake, coached by former UNLV head coach Dave Rice, was in front of a near-capacity crowd of more than 1,000.
“We played unbelievable,” Peabody said. “That’s the best run, the best record Pima College has ever had in 57 years of existence (to start a season).
“I love coaching these guys; they play together. They play for each other. They’ve got a heart of a lion.”
.@PimaMens_bball coach @PeabodyBrian talks about his team starting a program-record 15-0 following a 92-75 rout of one of the top teams nationally at the JUCO level – Salt Lake Community College, coached by former UNLV coach Dave Rice. Peabody mentioned starting point guard… pic.twitter.com/aPmk26yAY2
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 30, 2024
They move fast on offense like a gazelle, scoring in bunches in the open court and from 3-point range.
Pima leads all Division II programs nationally averaging 110 points a game.
The entertainment value of watching Pima’s transition-style offense should draw a lot more large crowds this season.
“In the 14 years that I’ve been here, these are the best crowds that we’ve had,” Peabody said about Sunday’s game with Dawson and Monday’s game against Salt Lake. “People in Tucson are coming out and supporting us. … My team deserves people coming out and watching us play.”
The 15-0 start brings Peabody closer to his 700th career win. He is 691-255.
BRIAN PEABODY COACHING CAREER
Record compiled by Pima College men's basketball coach Brian Peabody, who is in his 33rd year of coaching.Source: AllSportsTucson.com
| School | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Green Fields HS | 1990-1992 | 55-11 |
| St. Gregory HS | 1992-1993 | 26-3 |
| Salpointe HS | 1993-2003 | 241-57 |
| Pima CC | 2003-2004 | 7-23 |
| Ironwood Ridge HS | 2007-2013 | 122-52 |
| Pima CC | 2013-2025 | 240-109 |
| Pima (combined) | 14 years | 247-132 |
| Overall | 33 years | 691-255 |
The backcourt of Cohenj Gonzales and Max Majerle (son on NBA great Dan Majerle) are making the claim of being the best backcourt of the Peabody era.
Gonzales had his second 31-point performance of the Aztec Holiday Classic in the win over Salt Lake. He was 10 of 20 from the field, 9 of 15 from 3-point range with four assists and only two turnovers in 39 minutes.
Majerle, who made the game-winning 3-pointer against Dawson on Sunday, finished with 24 points (7 of 13 shooting from the field, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc) with six assists and one turnover in 32 minutes.
Rarely, if ever, does a starting backcourt combine for 55 points making 14 of 23 shots from 3-point range with 10 assists and only three turnovers against a team like Salt Lake, that features TCU-bound forward Xavier Edmonds.
.@PimaMens_bball PG @cohenjgonzales scored 31 points for the second time in the Aztecs’ 3-0 run through the Aztec Holiday Classic, capped by a 92-75 win today over Salt Lake Community College. Gonzales is listed at 5-9 but he does not allow that to be a factor, quite the… pic.twitter.com/peJ5FzeaG6
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 30, 2024
“When we’re both hitting, I feel like we’re feeding off each other with the energy,” said Gonzales, a sophomore from Gilbert Mesquite. “It feels good out there playing with him.”
Majerle, with his dad in attendance, shook off a recent stomach bug to hit the game-winner against Dawson and dominate against Salt Lake.
The transfer from Central Michigan, where his dad has his jersey number 44 retired, came to Peabody’s program because of the coach’s transition-style offense.
He has met that objective and four-year programs will notice.
“It’s deadly,” Majerle said sharing the backcourt with Gonzales. “We’re deadly together. Everyone seems really talented. Cohen works really hard. I work really hard. The whole team does. We’re really deadly together.”
.@PimaMens_bball guard @maxmajerle had 24 points while making 5 of 9 shots from 3-point range and also had six assists with his dad, NBA great Dan Majerle, in attendance during the Aztecs’ 92-75 win over Salt Lake Community College today. pic.twitter.com/D4uHB3smSq
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 31, 2024
One more wild distinguishable fact about the Gonzales-Majerle backcourt — each is shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season. Gonzales has made 51 percent of his shots while Majerle is at 54.5 percent.
Pima is shooting 55.3 percent as a team.
The Aztecs made 56.3 percent of their shots in the second half against Salt Lake — which included Gonzales and Majerle combining to make 9 of 13 from 3-point range — to pull away after leading 40-37 at halftime.
“I was excited when I heard he was coming here,” Gonzales said of Majerle. “I knew it would be good for both of us. I enjoy playing with him so far. We got a good win together and we’re just going to keep building on this win.”
A Max Majerle 3-pointer increases the lead to 71-51 with 8:10 left. https://t.co/gq3TqgzY7H pic.twitter.com/DZz6ra9OY1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 30, 2024
A 19-3 run for Pima turned a 49-48 lead into a 68-51 separation with 10:15 left. Rice called timeout and was visibly upset at his team in the huddle for how the Aztecs were making his team’s defense obsolete.
The way Pima was shooting, especially Gonzales and Majerle, Salt Lake did not stand a chance the rest of the game.
Gonzales and Majerle combined for seven 3-pointers in the second half by the time Pima increased its lead to 81-57 with 4:19 left.
Salt Lake struggled from the field, shooting 38.9 percent (30.3 from 3-point range) and it was 9 of 18 from the free-throw line.
“The good thing that we’re doing that maybe we haven’t done the last couple of years is we’re defending,” Peabody said. “We play really hard on the defensive end and grind it out. We can score with anybody.
“I was worried about playing a team like this at a slow pace where they’re big, strong and physical. But we guarded, we matched them on the glass (48-42 rebounding edge), everything. I was really pleased.”
Edmonds finished with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and had 10 rebounds. He was cold at the free-throw line, making 4 of 11 shots.
Frontcourt players Wes Ball and Gabe Oldham played well enough to prevent Edmonds from taking over the game inside.
They combined for 22 points while making 9 of 15 shots from the field with 19 rebounds. Oldham had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Pima completes its non-league schedule with games against PHH Prep on Saturday (4 p.m.) and the Grand Canyon JV team Jan. 8 (6 p.m.). Both games are at the West Gym.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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