By Matt Hickman/Sierra Vista Herald
CHANDLER — The Cochise men’s basketball team jumped on the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes early and never let off the throttle in a 113-60 blowout win Saturday afternoon.
Tim Jacobs led six Apaches in double figures with 21 points, followed by Demeco Blue with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Joe Bell Austin added 15, Jerry Duckworth had 14, Kendyl Grover had 12 and Tevin Caldwell chipped in 10 for the Apaches, who improved to 23-3 on the season, and remained a game back of first place in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference standings.
“We did a good job early in the game defensively taking them out of it,” Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo said.
If the Apaches, ranked 22nd in the nation, are to secure home court throughout the NJCAA playoffs, Wednesday night’s game at home against Arizona Western College is a must-win. At 16-2 in conference games, Cochise is a game behind Central Arizona and Western in the loss column for first place.
Tipoff Wednesday is at 7:30 p.m. on the Douglas Campus, immediately after the women’s game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m.
Cochise women
The Cochise women, also ranked No. 22 in the country, kept pace in the race to host the NJCAA Region I semifinals with a 94-55 win over Chandler-Gilbert.
Six Apaches scored in double figures, led by Ashley Mitchell with 19, followed by Yvonte Neal with 15, Johnishia Welles 14, Tianna Brown 13, and Jasmine Lemon and Madison Lopez each with 11. Justina Prairie Chief added nine.
“This week, we challenged them to really take focus and keep working on pushing the ball,” said head coach Laura Hughes, whose team ran to 23-3 on the season.
On Wednesday, the Apaches look to protect their one-game lead for the second seed in the playoffs against the team chasing them most closely — Arizona Western. Back on Jan. 5, the Apaches routed the Matadors in Yuma, 69-38.