The Pima Community College men's basketball team (29-4) defeated No. 15 College of Southern Maryland 108-84 in the NJCAA Division II National Tournamentto advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight year.
The No. 2 seeded Aztecs outscored the Hawks 59-37 in the second half. Up 67-62 with 13:46 left to play, the Aztecs went on a 14-0 run in the next three minutes to take an 81-62 lead.
Sophomore Justin Bessard scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half with eight rebounds and five blocks. He shot 8 for 10 from the field. Fellow sophomore Ilunga Moise cleaned up on the boards as he finished with a double-double of 17 points and 24 rebounds.
Freshmen Abram Carrasco (Cholla HS) and Jeremiah Bailey led the bench play. Carrasco scored 19 points on 7 for 9 shooting to go along with four assists. Bailey had 14 points on 4 for 6 shooting with seven rebounds. The bench scored a total of 41 points for the Aztecs.
The Aztecs will play the winner of No. 7 seed Richard Bland College (VA) and No. 10 Highland Community College (KS)
