Gonzales, Alexander and Baker combine for 62 points as Men's Basketball stymies South Mountain CC

The Pima Community College men's basketball team (9-1, 4-1 in ACCAC) bounced back with a dominating performance on Saturday against South Mountain Community College (3-4, 0-4).

• The No. 14 ranked Aztecs scored 59 points in each half and hit 13 3-pointers to beat the Cougars 118-59 at the West Campus Aztec Gym.
• The Aztecs scored the first eight points of the game and took their first double digit lead at 14-3 at the 16:46 mark forcing the Cougars to call timeout. The Aztecs continued to pour it on as they led 59-32 at halftime.
• The Aztecs outscored South Mountain 59-27 in the second half and led the game by as much as 59 points towards late in the second half.
• Freshman Cohenj Gonzales (Mesquite HS) led the way with a game-high 22 points as he went 7 for 10 from the field and 5 for 8 from beyond the arc. He also had five rebounds and six assists.
• Sophomores Jaylen Alexander and Dillan Baker (Salpointe Catholic HS) each posted 20 points. Alexander had eight rebounds and three assists while Baker grabbed five boards with three assists.
• The Pima bench finished with 45 points. Sophomore Tanner Poeschl (Skyline HS) led the bench scoring with 11 points as he was 5 for 7 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Sophomore Yahir Garcia (Tucson Magnet HS) went 3 for 5 from three-point range with nine points while freshmen Wes Ball (Marana HS) and Kota Benson (Mesa HS) each added eight points.
• The Aztecs controlled the glass as they out-rebounded South Mountain 63-31. Freshman Jackson Leyba (Deer Valley HS) led Pima with nine rebounds.

The Aztecs are off for the holiday break and will return for the Aztec Holiday Classic from Dec. 28-30 with all games at the West Campus Aztec Gym. They will play Bismarck State College (ND) on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 3:00 p.m.

SMCC     32   27    59
PCC        59   59   118