Lieppert, Smith and Gerken combine for 82 points to power Aztecs men's basketball over South Mountain CC

The Pima Community College men's basketball (17-10, 11-8 in ACCAC) won its sixth straight game on Saturday as it defeated South Mountain Community College (9-18, 5-14) at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.

• The Aztecs downed the Cougars 102-85 to stay in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the ACCAC Division II standings.
• The Aztecs took a double digit lead at 29-15 forcing the Cougars to call timeout with 11:36 left in the half and held a 58-44 lead at halftime.
• The Cougars cut Pima's lead to five points at 70-65 but the Aztecs quickly went on a 7-0 run to get the lead back to double digits at 77-65. The Aztecs led by as much as 24 points in the second half and led the entire game.
• Freshman Jake Lieppert (Saguaro HS), along with sophomores Rashad Smith (Hamilton HS) and Cole Gerken (Ironwood Ridge HS), combined to score 82 points.
• Lieppert finished with 32 points as he went 11 for 20 from the field and 8 for 15 from three-point range. He also had seven rebounds.
• Smith fell a rebound short of a triple-double as he finished with 30 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. He went 10 for 13 from the field and 4 for 6 from behind the arc.
• After a scoreless first half, Gerken responded with 20 points as he went 7 for 14 from the field. He also had seven rebounds.

The Aztecs have three regular season games remaining and will play the next two on the road. They will play at Chandler-Gilbert Community College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

SMCC    44   41    85
PCC       58   44   102