Prescott, Ariz., - The Arizona Western Matadors Men's Basketball team (11-3, 4-0) pulled away from the Roughriders late on Saturday evening, beating Yavapai (7-7, 1-3) 70-59 at Walraven Gymnasium to remain undefeated in conference play.

AJ Marmolejos scored 22 points to lead the Matadors, scoring 14 points in the second half to help the Matadors distance themselves from the Roughriders.

After trailing arly, the Matadors opened up a 19-9 after five straight points from Cam Atkinson before Yavapai trimmed the lead to five points at 24-19. With Yavapai within in a point, Matija Gledic hit a free-throw line jumpe to push the lead to 30-27 before LaRoi Glover buried a three-pointer from the top of the arch to bump the advantage to 34-27. Yavapai finished the first half on a 6-0 run, trimming the Matadors' lead to 34-33 at the half.

Yavapai grabbed a 48-47 lead early in the second half but Arizona Western responded with a 5-0 run, taking a 52-48 lead on a Jannoy Thomas jumper. The Matadors went up 60-50 late in the half thanks to a deep two-pointer from Atkinson but Yavapai was able to crawl back to within three points at 62-59 with 55 seconds left. The Matadors put the game away, outscoring the Roughriders 8-0 in the final 55 seconds to seal the win.

Atkinson ended the game with 11 points while Gledic finished with 10 and Thomas ended the game with eight.

The Matadors are back in action on Wednesday, December 13, hosting Cochise in an ACCAC matchup at 7:30 pm at the House Gymnasium. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors while Arizona Western College students get in free with their AWC ID.