Forward Deion James scored 31 points and hit all 13 of his free throws Tuesday, and the Pima College men’s basketball team defeated Illinois’ Waubonsee Community College 93-84 in the first round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament.
The Aztecs (22-11) advance to play Iowa’s Southwestern Community College in Thursday’s playoff quarterfinals in Danville, Illinois. Top-seeded Southwestern beat Southern Maryland 94-69 on Tuesday.
The quarterfinal game tips off at 11 a.m.
Sophomore Emilio Acedo provided some scoring punch for the Aztecs, hitting 3-pointers as part of a 14-4 run in the second half. The Aztecs led 54-37 with 16:03 remaining. Waubonsee cut Pima’s lead to seven points in the final minutes before the Aztecs put the game away.
“We just got onto the open floor, got layups and made our free throws,” Acedo said in a news release. “We played zone in the second half and it helped us keep our legs; that’s the only big adjustment. … We played well under the circumstances. We had the tempo the whole game.”
James’ 31 points were a game-high. Jacob Anastasi added 18 points, and Acedo had 14 points — 12 of them coming off three pointers. Damon Dubots scored nine points, while freshman Alize Travis had six points, a team-high 11 assists and four steals.
The tournament win came one day after Aztecs coach Brian Peabody received the NJCAA Division II’s Coach’s Award and was named the District I coach of the year. Pima will need James — and Peabody — if it hopes to upset the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
“We’re not intimated,” Acedo said. “We’ll play our game and hope for the best.”
