Kota Benson scores 15 of his 21 points in the final 7:21 as Aztecs Men's Basketball outlasts Cochise College

The Pima Community College men's basketball team (14-1, 6-1 in ACCAC) won its sixth straight game on Saturday after winning a big ACCAC conference road game.

• The No. 14 ranked Aztecs (Division II) took a big lead early and held off a surge beating Cochise College (Division I) 81-69 in Douglas.
• The Apaches (10-8, 3-4) closed in by cutting Pima's lead to single digits at 60-51 with 7:21 left forcing the Aztecs to call timeout.
• Freshman Kota Benson (Mesa HS) hit a three-pointer right out of the timeout, collected a steal and scored on the next possession to put the Aztecs back up by double digits at 65-51. Cochise hit a three-pointer to make it an 11-point game, but Benson responded with another three-pointer to cut the momentum and make it 75-61. The Apaches made a final effort with a three-pointer to cut it to 77-67 but Benson was right there again draining a three-pointer to put the score at 80-67. Benson scored 15 points in the final 7:21 of the game.
• The Aztecs led 17-8 but put together a 20-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 37-10 with 8:49 left in the half. Pima led 45-27 at the break.
• Benson scored a team-high 21 points off the bench to go along with two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore Tanner Poeschl also made his presence felt coming off the bench finishing with 19 points and six rebounds.
• Freshman Gabe Oldham posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while sophomore Dillan Baker also added 13 points.
• Freshman Moses Demalek (Paradise Valley HS) contributed on the glass and setting his teammates up to score as he finished with two points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Aztecs are back at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium on Wednesday when they host Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. The only blemish on Pima's record came at the hands of the Coyotes in their 79-69 loss on Dec. 13.

PCC   45   36   81
CC     27   42   69