Thunderbirds Use Monster Second Half to Take Down Eastern Arizona, 84-74
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern Arizona College (14-4, 7-3) | 39 | 35 | 74 |
|
Mesa Community College (8-7, 7-3) | 28 | 56 | 84 |
Eastern Arizona College
| Game Statistics | Eastern Arizona College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-56) | (31-68) |
| Field Goal % | 37.5% | 45.6% |
| Rebounds | 26 | 44 |
| Assists | 12 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 15 | 10 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 4 | 13 |
| Pts in the Paint | 20 | 50 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 6 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 14 | 12 |
Mesa, AZ—After two straight impressive wins in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, the Mesa Community College men's basketball team (8-7,7-3 ACCAC) continued their winning ways on Wednesday night as they used a huge second half comeback to defeat the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters (14-4, 7-3 ACCAC) by a score of 84-74 in Mesa.
While each team sported four different players to finish the game in double figures, Mesa's freshman Devin Sheehy led all scorers with a career-high 26 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while the Thunderbirds as a whole outscored the Gila Monsters 56-35 in the second half to secure their third straight ACCAC victory.
Eastern Arizona's sophomore Jaraan Lands opened the game with a deep perimeter jumper, but Mesa went on a quick 8-4 scoring run led by freshman Edward Hardt, to take an early 8-7 lead.
That was the last time the Thunderbirds would have the lead in the first half as Lands, sophomore Bronte Corbray and freshman Jordan Henderson single handedly took the Gila Monsters on an 18-2 scoring run to take the lead, 25-10.
With only 3:44 to play in the first half, Eastern Arizona had built up a 35-20 lead, but a pair of three pointers from sophomore Johnny Guarisco and a jumper from freshman Brandon Dixon only left Mesa with an 11 point deficit at the half, 39-28.
After shooting only 31 percent from the field in the first half, the Thunderbirds outscored Eastern Arizona 22-6 to open the second half behind multiple buckets from Sheehy, Hardt, sophomore Kyle Bingham and freshman Jordan Higgins to take a 52-45 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the game.
The Gila Monsters didn't go away by any means as freshman DeAndre Love totaled seven points over the next four minutes to cut their deficit to just one, 60-59, but timely free throws from Sheehy and a big three point basket extended the Thunderbird lead to 10, 69-59.
Behind Love's incredible free throw shooting efforts, Eastern Arizona was able to cut Mesa's lead to just six points, 76-70, with less than two minutes to play, but a stretch of 10 straight made free throws by Sheehy helped hand the Gila Monsters their fourth loss of the season, 84-74.
The Thunderbirds will next be in action this Saturday afternoon as they play host to the Tohono O'odham Community College Jegos at Theo Heap Gymnasium for a 4:00 p.m. MST scheduled first tip.