Aztecs Men's Basketball Wins Overtime Thriller Against South Mountain on Sophomore Day

The Pima Community College men's basketball team (17-12, 12-9 in ACCAC) were the ones standing tall after a wild game on Saturday against South Mountain Community College (17-12, 13-8).

The Aztecs pulled within a game behind South Mountain for the No. 2 seed in the Region I, Division II tournament after they defeated the Cougars 111-108 in overtime.

Down 108-105 in the extra period with 3:05 to go, the Aztecs closed it out with a 6-0 run. Sophomore Justice Martion hit a pair of free throws and fellow sophomore Yusuf Shehata (Amphitheater HS) grabbed a defense rebound on the next possession only to find Martion for the basket in the paint to put Pima up 109-108 with 1:38 left. The Aztecs defense held the Cougars to a shot clock violation and Shehata scored under the basket with 16 seconds on the clock. The Cougars had one last possession but a fumbled dribble and a forced shot as time ran out, secured the victory.

The Aztecs were up 99-93 with 59.6 seconds left in regulation but back-to-back three-pointers tied the game to force overtime. South Mountain missed a layup as time expired. The Cougars took their first lead of the game with the first basket in the extra period at 101-99.

The Aztecs hit nine 3-pointers in the first half to take a 47-34 advantage and led by as much as 14 points at 57-43 early in the second half.

All five starters for the Aztecs scored in double figures. Shehata led the way with a team-high 27 points. He hit five 3-pointers and was 8 for 8 from the free throw line. He also had seven assists. Martion finished with 26 points on 10 for 15 shooting from the field. He was 6 for 8 from the foul line.

Freshman Kwintin Williams had a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds; six were offensive rebounds. Freshman Keven Biggs (Cienega HS) also scored 18 points while sophomore Cameron Volk (Tucson Magnet HS) had 15 points, six assists and four steals.

Sophomores Volk, Martion, Shehata and Ezini Ugbisien (Palo Verde HS) were recognized at halftime.

The Aztecs swept the regular season head-to-head meetings with the Cougars. The Aztecs won 81-79 in Phoenix last month.

The Aztecs close out the regular season on Tuesday at Scottsdale Community College. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.