The Pima Community College men’s basketball team closed a historic 2024-25 season on Saturday with a 35-1 record and third-place finish in the NJCAA Division II national tournament at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Ill.
The No. 1 Aztecs defeated No. 7 Kalamazoo (Mich.) Valley 103-88, securing their 16th game of the season of scoring in triple digits.
The Aztecs close the season leading NJCAA Division II with a 99.5-point scoring average.
“It feels awesome (to get the win),” Pima coach Brian Peabody said in a school press release. “I told the guys they really deserve to go out on a win and get the ‘W’ tonight after the season they had.
“Setting records all over the place with 35 wins, and 34 consecutive wins. For them to regroup and come back after a tough loss yesterday (against Champaign, Ill., Parkland College), that just shows the resilience and maturity that these guys have.”
The Aztecs clung to a 78-72 lead with 7:57 left in the game before going on a 10-0 run.
Freshman Mason Hunt drained a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore Kota Benson’s basket capped the run that pushed the lead to 88-72. They never lost the double-digit lead after that.
Sophomore Cohenj Gonzales hit a 3-pointer at the end of the half to give Pima the 48-47 lead.
Sophomore Wes Ball (Marana) scored the first points of the second half and Benson hit a 3-pointer to make it 53-47. The Aztecs never trailed in the second half.
With Pima ahead 57-54, sophomore Max Majerle scored five straight points and capped off a 9-0 run with another bucket as Pima led 66-54.
The Cougars (31-4) would get as close as three points at 70-67 but Ball converted on a three-point play to halt any momentum.
The Aztecs trailed in the early minutes of the first half but Ball helped spark a rally as he scored eight straight points. The Aztecs went on a 16-4 run during that stretch to go up 26-19.
Benson had a team-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Benson also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Gonzales finished with 20 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Ball and Oldham helped the Aztecs win the rebound battle at 57-35 as they each produced double-doubles. Ball finished with 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field with 12 rebounds. Oldham added 13 points and 17 rebounds. He went 5 for 8 from the field.
“It was tough to lose yesterday,” Ball said in the press release. “We all came in with the same common goal to win a championship. We came up short, but we rallied today and realized it was going to be the last time we would touch the court together.
“We couldn’t end on an ‘L’ like that. Everyone came in and played their butt off. They did what they were supposed to do when they got in.”
Majerle contributed with 14 points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists.
Hunt posted eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.
The Aztecs set a new program record with 35 wins (35-1) and 34 straight wins. Their third-place finish at the NJCAA Division II national tournament is their best since 2018 when they were the runner-up.
Pima claimed the ACCAC title and the NJCAA Region I, Division II championship.
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