Pima College's men's basketball team defeated No. 11 Delta College 102-94 Friday at the NJCAA Division II national tournament, and will play Saturday for the first national championship in program history.
The No. 2 Aztecs (31-4) will play No. 1 seed Triton College in Saturday's title game in Danville, Illinois. The game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. Tucson time, can be streamed on the NJCAA TV website.
That moment when it hits....YOU'RE PLAYING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! #PimaBasketball #NJCAATournament #Final4 pic.twitter.com/q5jZZR29cz
— PimaAthletics (@PimaAthletics) March 24, 2018
Sophomore guard Isaiah Murphy said the win was "like a dream come true."
Sophomore wing Keven Biggs hauled the Aztecs in the Elite Eight game against Highland on Wednesday, scoring a season-high 34 points on nine 3-pointers. Friday, it was the backcourt's turn: Murphy and Alize Travis carried the team with 41 combined points. Travis also notched a double-double with 11 assists.
But the Aztecs committed 23 turnovers, which kept Delta in the game.
"We got erratic with the ball, and had a lot of turnovers that turned into easy baskets and that's kind of uncharacteristic for our guys," Pima coach Brian Peabody said.
In a back-and-forth shootout, Travis hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to give Pima a 100-91 lead.
"We had to stay poised the whole game and I feel like we did that well," Murphy said.
In the three NJCAA Tournament games, Pima averaged 104 points in each contest.
Pima is now 5-0 when it plays on a neutral court this season. The Aztecs will rely heavily on their bench depth. The team's four key reserves were a huge factor in Friday night's win.
"It's been like that all year. We've got nine guys that I trust and every kid that played tonight was an important part to our victory and it'll be the same way tomorrow," Peabody said.
