Apaches earn a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament with a win over #22 Matadors.
The Cochise College Men’s basketball team punched their ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, with a well-earned 21 point victory over Region I rival Arizona Western College in the Cochise Stronghold. Cochise College is the NJCAA West District Champion.
Cochise led 40-35 at halftime and was able to stretch the lead to 15 points midway through the second half. Cochise was led by Brian Rios and Stephen “Tank” Byard with 18 points each. Johnny Garcia chipped in 16 points off the bench for the Apaches. Rios was named the MVP of the Region I championship.
Cochise will head to Hutchinson, Kansas, for the NJCAA DI National Tournament on April 19-24. Cochise is now 11-2 on the season and will face Ranger College (TX) in a first-round match-up on Monday, April 19.
“Our guys did an outstanding job defensively for 40 minutes. Coach Lane did a great job with planning the defensive schemes and our guys competed on the defensive end of the floor,” said Head Coach Jerry Carrillo. “Brian Rios was clutch from the 3 point arc, and Tank continues to be a force on the inside. But more importantly, we are just so proud of our team to battle through a 14 day COVID pause and win the conference and Region.”
UP NEXT
Cochise earned the #20 seed in the NJCAA DI National Tournament and will play #13 seed Ranger College. Ranger is the Champion of the Southwest District. This first-round match-up will be on Monday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.