Ferocious 2nd Half Helps Mesa Defeat Central AZ, 85-79
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Central Arizona College (5-8, 1-5) | 50 | 29 | 79 |
|
Mesa Community College (6-7, 4-2) | 32 | 53 | 85 |
Central Arizona College
| Game Statistics | Central Arizona College | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-49) | (30-55) |
| Field Goal % | 49.0% | 54.5% |
| Rebounds | 25 | 23 |
| Assists | 16 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 7 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 5 | 21 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 11 |
| Pts in the Paint | 4 | 30 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 31 | 16 |
Mesa, AZ - Things looked bleak for the T-Birds in the first half. It was then bleak for the Vaquero's in the second half. Thankfully for the Mesa Thunderbirds, the second half treated them better than Central Arizona's first half as the T-Birds defeated the Vaquero's, 85-79, at Theo Heap Gym Wednesday night.
Central made 16 shots in the first half and 14 of those shots were three pointers as the Vaquero's just couldn't seem to miss from the outside. Their first 10 made shots were all three pointers. On the flip side of that, Mesa made 15 shots in the first half and only three of them were from three. The Vaquero's led at halftime, 50-32.
Mesa's defense stepped up big time in the second half though, forcing 11 Central turnovers and scoring 21 total points off those turnovers. Mesa also controlled the ball better in the second half, only turning the ball over once.
Bryce Cheney led the offensive effort throughout the second half, making strong drives to the hoop and getting Central to commit fouls. All of Cheney's 16 points came in the second half to go along with five total rebounds.
Adonis Arms and Ramon Franklin helped in the offensive attack, each scoring eight points in the second half. For the night, Arms finished with 15 points and Franklin finished with 12 points.
Mesa's leading point scorer was Sindou Diallo, who had 18 points while Antwan Ross-Jones finished with 15 points.
On the night, the T-Birds shot a solid 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field while connecting on seven total three's, outscoring the Vaquero's by a wide margin in the second half, 53-29.
The T-Birds improve their conference record to 4-2. They will be on the road this Saturday down in Thatcher to play Eastern Arizona College at 7:30 pm.