Douglas, AZ —The Cochise College Apaches are now 18-0 all time in the Phoenix College Holiday Basketball Classic. The Apaches first contest was a 128-96 win against Arizona Christian JV. The Firestorm played the Apaches tough the first 20 minutes, going into halftime with Cochise leading 66-56. In the second half, the Apaches overwhelmed AZ Christian, outscoring them by 22 points.
Cochise had six players score double figures. Freshman Chaz Mack led the way with 27 points, on 9-12 from the field, with nine rebounds. Arell Hennings had 25 points, making four three-pointers and nine of his 10 free throws. Dallas Polk-Hilliard had another effective game, shooting 10-14 from the field and finishing with 22 points. Jawan Stepney, Justin Jones, and Emanual Shepherd scored 14, 11, and 14 points respectively.
Game two of the Holiday Classic featured Future College, out of California, against the Apaches. Cochise scored the ball at will, winning 130-96. The tempo of this game was right where the Apaches wanted it, getting 101 attempts at the rim. Cochise shot 54% from the field, led by Arell Hennings, once again. Arell finished with 24 points making six three-pointers while having 7 assists. Freshman Chaz Mack and Dallas Polk-Hilliard continued their great play combining for 41 points and 24 rebounds. Sophomore Emanual Shepherd had his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Game three saw Cochise against The University of Regina out of Canada. The Apaches got out to a fast start, leading 51-39 at the half. Regina fought back in the closing minutes of the second half to tie the game at 94. Arell Hennings stepped to the free throw line with 3.9 seconds left and calmly made both shots to seal the game. Dallas Polk-Hilliard led the Apaches in scoring with 23 points while Arell Hennings continued his great play with 22 points and 4 assists.
With the New Year rolling in, the Apaches are 13-2 heading back into conference play on Wednesday, January 6 at home against South Mountain CC. Currently, in second place in the ACCAC the Apaches will look to continue their fast paced play, being only one game behind Arizona Western.
“We gave our guys two weeks off for the break to spend time with their family. We put our guys in a great situation being that they get back to practice a few times and get to play three games right away. Now with some time between the Regina and South Mountain game we will look to use practice to really improve and make a run at an ACCAC championship,” said Head Coach Jerry Carrillo.