Freshman Jordan Robinson was a bright spot for the Aztecs as he finished with 18 points but the No. 3 seeded Aztecs men's basketball team were upset by No. 14 Cecil College 81-72. The Aztecs will play in the consolation bracket on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (MST). Their opponent is TBD. Photo by Stephanie Van Latum
Freshman Jordan Robinson was a bright spot for the Aztecs as he finished with 18 points but the No. 3 seeded Aztecs men's basketball team were upset by No. 14 Cecil College 81-72. The Aztecs will play in the consolation bracket on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (MST). Their opponent is TBD. Photo by Stephanie Van Latum

Aztecs men's basketball upset in opening round of NJCAA tourney by Cecil College

The Pima Community College men's basketball team (26-7) were staggered in the first round of the NJCAA Division II Tournament on Tuesday at Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville, IL.

  • The No. 3 seeded Aztecs fell to No. 14 Cecil College (MD) 81-72. They will play in the consolation bracket on Thursday.
  • Sophomore Kennedy Koehler made a basket to cap an 11-2 run and match Pima's biggest lead at 62-55 with 6:00 left but the Seahawks (22-11) followed with an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 63-62. With the game tied at 65-65 with 3:18 left, the Seahawks went on a 7-0 run to make it 72-65 with 59.1 seconds left.
  • The Aztecs forced the Seahawks to the foul line where they converted on their final 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute.
  • The Aztecs trailed 31-29 at halftime and took their first lead of the half when sophomore Abram Carrasco (Cholla HS) scored his first points to make it 35-34 at the 17:12 mark. Carrasco was held scoreless in the first half and for the final 10:20 of the game. He finished with seven points going 3 for 10 from the floor.
  • Sophomore Robert Wilson (Salpointe Catholic HS) tied the game at 53-53 with a basket inside which sparked the 11-2 run. Wilson was also held scoreless in the first half and in the last 8:50 of the game. He had seven points but had 14 rebounds.
  • Sophomore Kennedy Koehler scored a team-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds. Freshman Jordan Robinson (Tucson HS) was the other Pima player in double figures as he finished with 18 points. Freshman Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) added nine points; all scored in the first half.

The Aztecs will play the loser of Wednesday's first round game between St. Clair County Community College/John Wood Community College. The consolation game will be on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. (CT); 1:00 p.m. (MST).

CC    31   50   81
PCC  29   43   72