For the second consecutive season, the Pima Community College men’s basketball team closed its season with a victory, only it was not the type of win the Aztecs ultimately wanted.
Pima won the third-place game last season after losing its first game of the season in the NJCAA Division II semifinal round.
The Aztecs lost their first game in the quarterfinals this season before winning their last two games to finish in fifth place at the national tournament at Danville, Ill.
Pima went 35-1 in both seasons.
The No. 4-seeded Aztecs upset No. 1 Des Moines (Iowa) Area 98-81 on Saturday in the fifth-place game. The Aztecs toppled No. 2 Palm Beach (Fla.) State 80-79 on Friday in their first consolation game after losing 78-77 in the quarterfinals to Iowa Central on Thursday.
In the fifth-place game, the Aztecs fell behind 54-49 in their greatest deficit against the Bears (33-3).
The Aztecs responded by holding Des Moines Area without a field goal for more than eight minutes. In that span, Pima went on a 25-2 run to go up 74-56.
Freshman Isaiah Hill (formerly of Pueblo and Premier Prep Academy) scored 11 points during that stretch while sophomores Mason Hunt and Isaac Johnson each scored six points.
Pima took its biggest lead of the game after Hunt hit a 3-pointer and Johnson a layup to make it 81-59 with 7:06 left in the game. The Bears could not close it to single digits.
The Aztecs and the Bears went back and forth in the first half as it featured five ties and nine lead changes. Freshman Will Feagles tied the game on two occasions down the stretch at 32-32 and 35-35. The Aztecs trailed 47-45 at halftime and went on to outscore the Bears 53-34 in the second half.
Hunt scored a game-high 31 points as he went 10 for16 from the field, 5 for 10 from 3-point range and 6 for 8 at the free-throw line. He was named to the NJCAA Division II All-Tournament team. He averaged 26.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in the last four games at the tournament. He shot 48.4% (30 for 62) from the field, 43.8% (14 for 32) from 3-point range and 88.6% (31 for 35) from the free-throw line.
Hill finished with 24 points as he also went 10 for 16 from the field to go along with eight assists, four rebounds and five steals. He was named the Jack Cistriano Best Small Man Award recipient. He averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game at nationals.
Johnson scored 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two blocks and Feagles finished with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Hunt, Johnson and fellow sophomores Brock Mendoza and Mason Tippett (Cienega) closed their Pima careers with a record of 70-2 in regular season, Region I playoffs and NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances as part of the active roster.
In the last two years, the were 60-0 in regular-season games, 46-0 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium and 36-0 in ACCAC play.
Recommended for you
