No. 14 Aztecs Men's Basketball goes cold in final eight minutes in loss at No. 13 Scottsdale CC

The Pima Community College men's basketball team (18-4, 10-4 in ACCAC) couldn't capitalize on shots down the stretch on Wednesday at Scottsdale Community College (18-4, 10-4).

• The No. 14 ranked Aztecs fell to the No. 13 Artichokes 90-80.
• The Aztecs took their final lead at 73-71 after sophomore Traivar Jackson hit a pair of free throws with 7:56 left in the game. After that, the Aztecs made just two field goals the remainder of the game and the Artichokes closed it out going on a 19-7 run.
• The Aztecs held a slim advantage for much of the first half as the teams traded baskets. Pima went on a 7-0 run to widen their lead to 35-27 but the Artichokes scored the next five points to close the gap to 35-32. Pima led 43-41 and got a three-pointer from freshman Jamison Kay (Gila Ridge HS) and back-to-back buckets by sophomore Cesar Saenz (Sabino HS) to take their biggest lead at 50-41 but Scottsdale again closed in with four straight points. The Aztecs grasped a 50-45 lead at the break.
• The Artichokes went up 58-55 with 15:46 left in the game but the Aztecs countered with a 10-0 run as Kay and freshman Mike Pope drained three-pointers. Jackson's basket inside the paint made it 65-58 with 13:54 left. The Aztecs were up 67-60 but Scottsdale put together an 11-4 run in four minutes to tie it at 71-71.
• Jackson finished with a game-high 28 points as he also posted seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
• Saenz added 15 points to go along with nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
• Pope and freshman Jaylen Alexander each contributed with 10 points.
• The Aztecs split the head-to-head meetings with the Artichokes during the regular season as Pima won their first contest 98-84 on Dec. 7.

The Aztecs face another tough test on Saturday as they play at No. 16 (Division I) Cochise College (20-2, 14-0). Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.

PCC   50   30   80
SCC   45   45   90