Cochise College men’s basketball team gives ACCAC rival Eastern Arizona College a 48 point defeat in the Apache Stronghold.
After the cancellation of last week’s Pima CC game, the Cochise College Apaches used the 10-day game layoff to dismantle the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters 118-70 in last night’s game at the Stronghold Gymnasium. Two made free-throws by the Gila Monsters in the final second allowed Eastern Arizona from taking the dreaded 50 piece.
Cochise jumped out to an early first-half lead and never looked back. Cochise led 58-36 at halftime and pushed that lead past 40 points in the second half. Cochise was led by Sophomore Brian Rios, who tallied 7 three-point field goals and 23 points in the Gila Monsters route. Freshman Johnny Garcia poured in 22 points off the bench, while Freshman Stephen “Tank” Byard continued his scoring around the basket with 20 points in the route. Local Cochise County product Quay Lasua chipped in 13 points in the win.
Cochise is now 2-1 in ACCAC play and 2-2 on the young season.
“It was really great to see our guys have so much success moving the ball on offensive tonight. We did a solid job of defending Eastern and then sprinting in transition, thus allowing us to get open shots on the rim,” said Head Coach Jerry Carrillo. “Brian Rios works hard on his game. It is great to see him have so much success tonight. Assistant Coach Derek Lane did a great job on the scouting report and had our guys ready to play.”
Next Up
Cochise will host Arizona Western College on Saturday, Feb. 20, for a 4 p.m. tip-off in the Stronghold Gymnasium. Until further notice, there will be no spectators allowed. All home games will be live-streamed at https://athletics.cochise.edu/watch-live/ and on the Cochise College YouTube channel.