Last Second Shot Falls Short, T-Birds Fall in Semi-Final Bout at AZ Western, 80-77
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mesa Community College | 36 | 41 | 77 |
|
Arizona Western College | 51 | 29 | 80 |
Arizona Western College
| Game Statistics | Mesa Community College | Arizona Western College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (29-62) | (26-61) |
| Field Goal % | 46.8% | 42.6% |
| Rebounds | 34 | 37 |
| Assists | 13 | 16 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 10 |
Yuma, AZ - In a game filled with three-pointers, scoring spree's and scoring droughts, it was the Arizona Western Matadors who survived in the end as the Mesa Thunderbirds fall, 80-77, in the semi-final game of the Region I - DI tournament.
Mesa had one final chance with nine seconds to tie the game or even take the lead but a running right hander from about eight feet by Kyle Fischer hit short on the backboard and with a Western rebound, the T-Birds hopes of advancing disappeared.
It was 40 minutes of scoring runs from each side that made things interesting. The Matadors couldn't miss from three in the first half, knocking down 12 long balls, taking a 51-36 lead into halftime. Mesa however came out of the break going on an 11-2 run, cutting the Western lead to 53-47. By the nine minute mark of the second half, the T-Birds cut the lead down to two, 63-61.
Though the T-Birds chiseled the lead down, they could not however regain the lead, as Arizona Western held to an advantage throughout the whole second half.
The T-Birds on the night shot well, 29-62 (46%) from the field, knocking down 14-34 (41%) three-pointers while making 5-6 free-throws (83%). The T-Birds however just could not overcome the Matadors first half barrage of three's.
Kyle Fischer led Mesa scorers with 18 points while Elijah Moore scored 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers. Jok Jok scored 13 points with Rajhan Billingsley scoring 10 points.
Mesa finishes the season with a 15-15 overall record.