YUMA, Ariz. – The Arizona Western Matadors Men's Basketball team (16-6, 9-5) used a big second half to pull away from Mesa (7-14, 3-11), beating the Thunderbirds 84-62 on Wednesday evening in Mesa, Ariz., at Theo Heap Gymnasium.

Yaxel Lendeborg led the Matadors with 23 points, leading the way as four Matadors finished the game in double-figures.

Mesa jumped out of the gates quickly, scoring 13 of the first 17 points to take a 13-4 lead. Matija Gledic tied the game at 17-17 with a four-point play as part of an 11-0 run to give the Matadors a 23-17 lead. The Matadors pushed the lead out to 11 points at 36-25 with under four minutes to play in the half. The Thunderbirds closed the half on a 10-2 run, trimming the Matadors' lead to 38-35 at the break.

Gledic finished the game with a career-high nine points in his first career start while Marquis Hargrove ended the game as the Matadors' second-leading scorer.

The Matadors built the lead back to 11 points early in the second half before Mesa crept to within eight points. Arizona Western built the lead back up using three consecutive transition baskets, two from Lendeborg and another from AJ Marmolejos as the Matadors took a 74-54 lead late in the half. The Matadors' largest lead of the night was the final score, 84-62.

Isaiah Amato was the Matadors' third-leading scorer with 13 points while Marmolejos was the fourth Matador in double-figures with 10.

The Matadors are back on the road on Saturday, February 4, heading to Phoenix to face South Mountain at 2:00 pm.