It has been quite an exciting season for both Pima College basketball programs.
The men’s success is highlighted by their upset of No. 16-ranked and previously undefeated Cochise College on Dec. 10.
Pima defeated Cochise 94-91 thanks in large part to Dorian Page (Palo Verde), who scored 29 points, and Murphy Gershman (Tucson High), who had 27 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with five seconds left.
On the women’s side, the Aztecs had a similar ending against No. 6-ranked Mesa CC on Saturday. Coming in, Pima hadn’t beaten Mesa since 2011, but the Aztecs pulled out a 72-70 victory on a game-winning layup from Hayley Pryor (Basha) with one second left.
The men (8-3) won’t play another game until after winter break, and the women (5-5) continue play in the Bruce Fleck Classic tonight and Thursday, all at 7 p.m. at Pima’s West Campus.
As both teams head into the winter break, here’s a look at what the respective squads have accomplished thus far.
The women
- Record:
- 5-5
- MVP:
- Melody McLaughlin
- (forward): 14.4 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals; best game: 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals against Tohono O’odham CC on Nov. 25.
- Other standouts:
- F
- Shalise Fernander
- (10.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.4 spg), G
- Jayla Brown
- (9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 three-pointers)
- By the numbers:
66 Points per game, fifth-best in the ACCAC.
18.9 Three-point-shooting percentage, worst in the ACCAC.
23.1 Turnovers per game, second-worst in the ACCAC.
46.3 Rebounds per game, third-best in the ACCAC.
77.8 McLaughlin’s free-throw percentage, fifth-best in the ACCAC.
3.3 Assists per game for Adrianna Barrientez, seventh-best in the
ACCAC.
Note: Fernander was named the ACCAC Player of the Week on Monday for her performances against Mesa CC and Cochise College last week. She averaged 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as Pima beat Mesa and lost to Cochise.
The men
- Record:
- 8-3
- MVP:
- Murphy Gershman (forward/center): 23.9 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 three-pointers per game, 52.7 field-goal percentage; best game: 31 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists against Tohono O’odham CC on Nov. 25.
- Other standouts:
- G/F
- Matt O’Boyle
- (16.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.2 three-pointers), G/F
- Bryan Cervantes
- (14.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 three-pointers)
- By the numbers:
4 Categories Gershman ranks among the top five in the ACCAC (points per game, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game, free throws per game). He leads the conference in rebounding.
89.5 Points scored per game, second-best in conference.
42.8 Rebounds per game, also second-best.
17.2 Turnovers per game, worst in conference.
5.3 Assists per game for Andres Marquez, seventh-best in conference.
Other sports
- The football team had three players participate in the JUCO All-American Bowl, played at Glendale CC on Saturday. They were offensive linemen
- Baylor Hahn
- and
- Donovan Vance
- (Cienega) and wide receiver
- Shane Ward
- . Ward’s Team Black defeated Hahn and Vance’s Team White 21-8. Ward scored on a 15-yard run in the game. As part of the game’s festitivies, the players met Arizona State coaches and toured ASU’s campus, in addition to talking to other college coaches and NFL scouts.
- For men and women’s soccer, sophomore
- Arturo Vega
- (Salpointe Catholic) and
- Shannon Shields
- (Sabino) were named NSCAA All-Americans. Vega was a men’s first-teamer; Shields was named to the women’s second team.
