By Matt Hickman/Sierra Vista Herald
TUCSON — The Cochise College men’s and women’s basketball teams bounced back from home losses to Central Arizona on Saturday to sweep Pima Community College on Wednesday.
For the Cochise men, the Aztecs were little hindrance on their way to win No. 16 on the season. The Apaches led 49-17 at the half and coasted from there.
Jerry Duckworth scored 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and Joe Bell Austin and Anddrew Hawkins each scored 12.
For the Cochise women, the going wasn’t quite so easy. Pima led by as much as 13 in the first half, and the Apaches went into the second half down 38-32.
Pima came out of the gates strong to take a 50-38 lead before Cochise began to find its footing. After taking the lead late, the Apaches hit 11 straight free-throws down the stretch to seal it, 72-63.
“We were really sluggish,” Cochise head coach Laura Hughes said. “The last eight minutes, we outscored them, like, 26-5. I didn’t feel we were mentally over Central.”
Madison Lopez scored 15, Tianna Brown scored 12 and Justina Prairie Chief had 11.
The Cochise men and women each head into Saturday’s afternoon games at Phoenix with 16-3 overall records. The women play at 2 and the men follow at 4. The Apaches return home Wednesday for evening games against Scottsdale.