By Matt Hickman/Sierra Vista Herald
COOLIDGE — The Cochise College men’s and women’s basketball teams each fell in their final road games of the season at Central Arizona.
For the Cochise men, their 79-69 loss to the Vaqueros ensures they will be opening the NJCAA Region I Playoffs on the road next week.
The Apache women lost to Central Arizona for the second time this season, 69-57, but they caught a break in that Arizona Western College also lost to South Mountain on Tuesday night, keeping Cochise a game ahead of the Dorados for second place in the ACCAC Division I standings.
With a win Friday night at home against Pima, the Apaches can clinch the second seed and home court for the Region I semifinals.
“We still control our destiny,” Cochise head coach Laura Hughes said. “If we take care of business, we’ll be the No. 2, but Pima is tough. They were up on us at halftime last time and played us really close. We’re going to need to defend well.”
The Cochise men led 38-34 at the half, but a 51-22 edge in rebounding for Central proved to be the difference as the Apaches chased most of the second half.
Jordan Russell led Cochise with 19 points, Jerry Duckworth had 18 and Tim Jacobs had 11. The Apaches close out the regular season on Friday at home against Pima, and they will wind up either the third or fourth seed for next week’s playoffs.