MCC Basketball travels to Chandler-Gilbert on Saturday
Friday February 23, 2024 - 2:40 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger
MCC Basketball travels to Chandler-Gilbert on Saturday for ACCAC contests.
Women's Basketball:
The No. 6 Lady T-Birds come into play on Saturday with a 21-5 record (16-4 ACCAC). MCC has won four of their last five after their 77-35 win over South Mountain on Wednesday.
As of now MCC holds the No. 1 seed when it comes to DII teams in the ACCAC. With just three more games to be played down the stretch Mesa has control of their own destiny to hold court advantage throughout the Region I postseason as long as they take care of business.
Chandler-Gilbert comes into play on Saturday with a 13-13 record (8-11 ACCAC). The Coyotes have won three of their last five and have won two straight. CGCC holds the No. 4 seed currently and also control their own destiny as Phoenix College who holds the No. 5 seed needs to win out and have Chandler-Gilbert stumble down the stretch to have a chance to sneak in.
This will be the third and final contest between the two clubs as Mesa has won both previous meetings.
In their first contest back on Jan. 6 the Lady T-Birds got off to a slow first half only scoring 22 points, but a 40 point second half propelled them to a 62-30 victory. Ashiian Hunter led Mesa with 14 points and four made three-pointers off the bench.
On Jan. 31 the Coyotes traveled to The Heap Gymnasium for a rematch with the Thunderbirds. MCC came out on fire in the first half shooting 46.5% from the floor as they outscored CGCC, 41-14. Mesa would cruise to an 81-40 victory led by a career night from Aaliyah Garcia who had 15 points in the contest.
Men's Basketball:
The Thunderbirds come into play on Saturday with a 7-18 record (5-14 ACCAC). Mesa has won two of their last five games and have lost three in a row.
MCC is nearly eliminated from playoff contention with their recent loss to South Mountain on Wednesday. Orlando Gonzales had his second straight 30 point game in the loss.
There is a small possibility that Mesa could sneak in but it would take the T-Birds winning out the rest of the year as well as either Glendale and/or Scottsdale losing out.
Chandler-Gilbert comes into play ranked No. 9 in the country with a 24-2 record (16-2 ACCAC). The Coyotes hold the No. 1 seed in the DII standings for the conference but have No. 14 Pima hot on their heels only one game behind. CGCC does have a little wiggle room as they hold the tie-breaker over the Aztecs.
This will be the third and final game between the Coyotes and T-Birds this season as CGCC has taken both games so far this year.
On Jan. 6 CGCC secured a 77-72 victory over Mesa. The T-Birds had a chance to win the game but stumbled down the stretch as they were outscoed 14-2 in the final four minutes.. Orlando Gonzales set a then career high in the loss as he had 29 points and eight three-pointers. CGCC was led by KJ Dunn who had 19 in the win.
On Jan. 31 Chandler-Gilbert earned a 70-44 win over Mesa as the Coyotes built up a 39-23 lead going into the halftime locker room behind 17 first half points from Marlon Landingham who eventually would finish the game with career high 25 points.
Both games will be played at Chandler-Gilbert, the women will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. and the men will follow at 4:00 p.m.
Watch the games live by clicking here!
