Men take fourth straight with second half rally at Tohono O'odham, 76-70
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mesa Community College (12-5, 9-2) | 34 | 42 | 76 |
|
Tohono O'odham Community College (7-12, 4-7) | 39 | 31 | 70 |
Tohono O'odham Community College
| Game Statistics | Mesa Community College | Tohono O'odham Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (23-48) | (25-61) |
| Field Goal % | 47.9% | 41.0% |
| Rebounds | 33 | 30 |
| Assists | 19 | 14 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 10 |
TOPOWAH, AZ - Rallying from five points down at halftime, the Mesa men scored their fourth straight win, a 76-70 victory at Tohono O'odham Saturday that ensures the T-Birds will start the second half of the ACCAC season in a share of first place.
For the fourth time this year MCC (12-5, 9-2) overcame a halftime deficit to win, defeating a TOCC team (7-12, 4-7) team that had upset ACCAC co-leader Phoenix a week previous.
Khari Holloway (So., Jackson, Miss/Mountain Pointe H.S.), the nation's leading free throw shooter, continued to work his magic, hitting all 13 of his foul shots, including six straight in the final 54 seconds to help ensure the MCC win.
The T-Birds built a 26-21 lead in the first half with 7:38 to play, but saw the Jegos engineer a 14-2 run, eventually taking a 39-34 halftime lead.
Mesa finally pulled even at 53-53 on a three-pointer by Jordan Pratt (Fr., Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain H.S.) with 9:24 to play. TOCC, however, immediately counter with a three by Nahjee Matlock and stayed on top until Mitch Burnett (Fr., Phoenix, AZ/Central H.S.) scored from beyond the arc giving MCC a 62-61 lead with 5:35 left. Mesa never trailed again.
Tohono O'odham, however, kept it close.
Pratt hit two free throws with 39 seconds remaining to give the T-Birds a six-point lead, 70-64, but even that wasn't secure. Stevin Nelson answered with a three-pointer at the 27 second mark to halve Mesa's margin. The T-Birds then used their outstanding free throw shooting to wrap things up.
As the Jegos fouled to try to save time and re-gain possession, MCC shined at the line, making its last ten straight. The Thunderbirds are the nation's second leading free throw shooting team with a .781 percentage and made 23 of 26 against TOCC.
Mesa once again profited from good three-point shooting, going 7-15.
Holloway, who now has a .944 free throw percentage and has missed just six of 107 tries, scored 22 points. He even added six assists. Pratt finished with 18, the third time this year he has hit that figure.
The T-Birds will begin the second half of the ACCAC season at home Wednesday when they host Cochise at 7:30 p.m.