Last second basket lifts Tohono O'odham to 77--76 win over Mesa men.
| 2nd - 00:01 | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tohono O'odham Community College (13-17, 10-12) | 36 | 41 | 77 |
|
Mesa Community College (20-8, 17-5) | 42 | 34 | 76 |
Tohono O'odham Community College
| Game Statistics | Tohono O'odham Community College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-61) | (25-48) |
| Field Goal % | 41.0% | 52.1% |
| Rebounds | 30 | 35 |
| Assists | 9 | 14 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 28 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 28 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 15 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 36 | 26 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 6 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 18 | 26 |
MESA, AZ - In its final game before the Region I playoffs, the Mesa men's basketball team saw Tohono O'odham's Jesse Brown hit a layup from the left side of the basket in the final two seconds to lift his team to a 77-76 win Tuesday night at Theo Heap Gym.
In a game played before a playoff atmosphere generated by a large TOCC group, the final was the only lead the Jegos had since the opening minutes of the game.
With Tohono O'odham (13-17, 10-12) unleashing a super-aggressive defense, MCC (20-8, 17-5) committed 28 turnovers, six more than in any previous game.
The T-Birds built an 18-point lead early, 25-7, but saw that shrink to 42-36 at halftime.
Mesa then surged in front by 17 early in the second half, 59-42, with 12:57 to play on a layup by Sam Hainline (Fr., Laramie, Wyo/Laramie H.S.).
MCC still led, 72-62 with 3:21 left on a put-back by Mitch Burnett (Fr., Phoenix, AZ/Central H.S.). At that point, however, TOCC went on a 9-0 run to close to within, 72-71 with 1:32 to play.
The Thunderbirds went up, 76-73 at the 59 second mark on a dunk by Kyle Bingham (Fr., Mesa, AZ/Mountain View H.S.). A pair of free throws by Emmett Sloan with 53 seconds left cut the margin back to one.
Mesa was then unable to score on its next possession. TOCC held for a final shot. On an inbounds play at the baseline Brown hit his big shot.
Khari Holloway (So., Jackson, Miss/Mountain Pointe (AZ) H.S.) led Mesa with 14 points. Charles Wardell (So., Milwaukee, Wisc/Northwest Secondary H.S.) added 13. Burnett finished with eight points and a team high eight rebounds.
MCC will host Arizona Western in the Region I semi-finals Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Theo Heap Gym.