Apaches go for 3-Peat in winning Conference title again and earn #1 Seed in Tourney

The Cochise College Apaches bounced back from a 69-65 defeat by the hands of Central Arizona College last week with a 21 point trouncing of the Vaqueros on their home floor. With the win, the Apaches garnered their 3rd consecutive ACCAC regular-season title and are now the #1 seed in next week’s NJCAA Region I tournament. When asked about the game, sophomore forward Patrick Samoura recounted, “Our coaching staff really locked us in –and we made the proper adjustments to go out and clinch the championship.”

Cochise led 39-26 thanks to a strong defensive effort by the Apaches.  Cochise was able to stretch the lead to as many as 28 points in the second half in securing the victory.   The Apaches were led by Stephen “Tank” Byard with 23 points. Johnny Garcia chipped in 19 points off the bench while Jalun Trent added 10 assists and 7 rebounds in the victory. Head Coach Jerry Carrillo stated, “I am so proud of our guys for bouncing back and preparing the right way to play a team we just lost to—and we came out ready to roll.  Coach Lane did a great job as defensive coordinator the last 3 practices in preparation. Bottom line is our guys showed humility and pride in coming out and getting this done.  Winning the conference 3 years in a row is a great accomplishment —even in this shortened COVID season. I could not be more proud of our guys.”

Due to Arizona Western being on “pause” Cochise has now finished with the regular season with an 8-2 record in ACCAC play and 9-3 overall.

NEXT UP

Cochise is the #1 seed in next week’s NJCAA Region I tournament.  Cochise has advanced to the Championship game on Saturday, April 10th TBD. Cochise will play the winner of Central Arizona College and Arizona Western College who play at Arizona Western College on Wed. April 7th.  The winner of the NJCAA Region I tournament will advance to Hutchinson KA for the NJCAA National Tournament help April 19-24.

*Please Note: Fans are not allowed to watch the games on campus. Visit the watch-live page to watch the action as Cochise College will live-stream the games.