Cochise men’s basketball upsets #18 Arizona Western College
Apaches start strong defensively and use a balanced attack to win 82-72. The Cochise College men’s basketball team came out strong early […]
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Apaches start strong defensively and use a balanced attack to win 82-72.
The Cochise College men’s basketball team came out strong early and finished off the #18 ranked Arizona Western College Matadors yesterday. Cochise took a 42-29 lead into the halftime break and stretched it to 20 points in the second half. The Apaches withstood a final Matador rally in the last five minutes to win 82-72, avenging a 59-55 setback in the first meeting of the ACCAC rivals. “Again, we cannot express how fun it is to work with this group of guys. We are just so excited to be playing after so much time off due to COVID,” said Head Coach Jerry Carrillo.
Cochise again was bolstered by a very well-balanced offensive scoring attack. Freshman Stephen “Tank” Byard led the Apaches with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Sophomore Brian Rios poured in 16 points and 5 three-point field goals. Sophomore Patrick Samora continued his strong all-around play with 15 rebounds and 9 points. Freshmen Johnny Garcia and Kalep Crane chipped in 11 and 10 points off the bench, respectively.
Cochise is now 3-1 in ACCAC play and sits on top of the conference with Arizona Western College.
“Our team is working very hard in practice to prepare for competition. Our defensive effort in the first half was excellent as we were able to get stops and push the ball in transition,” added Carrillo. “Again, Patrick Samoura may be the best “glue” guy in NJCAA basketball as he again tallied 15 rebounds and just did so many “little things” to help us win. “
Next Up
Cochise men’s basketball team will travel to Central Arizona College for an ACCAC match-up on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Signal Peak.
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