HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Cochise College men’s basketball team was outmatched against the NJCAA Division I’s top ranked team Monday.
The No. 24-seeded Apaches fell 90-60 against ninth-seeded Vincennes University in the first round of the national tournament. The loss eliminates Cochise from the bracket, and Vincennes will face eighth-seeded South Plains in the second round Tuesday.
Daniel Hernandez led the Apaches with 23 points, followed by Emanual Shepherd with 11 and Arell Hennings with nine. Vincennes’ AJ Patty finished with a game-high 27 points and Mychal Mulder had 20.
Cochise kept the game close through nearly the entire first half, but the Trailblazers pulled away just before the break, led 48-37 at the half and carried their momentum through the rest of the game.
“I thought we were close,” Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo said. “We missed a couple of easier shots and we turned it over for run-out layups. Our goal was to keep it close for that long.”
Vincennes shot 56 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range, while Cochise shot 35 percent and made just 4 of its 38 3-point attempts.
Cochise has made three trips to the national tournament in school history — all under Carrillo. The last time was back-to-back appearances in 2000 and 2001.