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| Arturo Donzella
(right) goes around a defender, while Nate Perry (22) waits
for the ball. With Mesa’s 106-83 win over Pima March 1,
MCC improved to 20-9 with only Yavapai left to conclude the
regular season on March 4. |
| Photos
by Rebecca Straughmatt |
MCC men drop ball vs. Cochise
Men’s basketball fighting for playoff berth
despite 20-win season
Jason Howard
Contributing Writer
Heading into Saturday’s showdown
with Cochise College, the Thunderbird Basketball team was tied for
second place in the ACCAC, holding a 13-6 conference record with
only three games left. As fate would have it, the team they were
tied with was the aforementioned Apaches of Cochise College.
The T-Birds were riding an impressive 4-1 record in their last five
games, having defeated Scottsdale, Phoenix, Central Arizona and
Glendale. They would have solidified a spot in the National Junior
College Athletic Association Tournament with a win at home versus
Cochise.
“We need to finish strong,” said Coach Alton Lister.
“Every game is a playoff game from here on in.” Only
the top four teams in the conference are awarded a spot in the NJCAA
tournament, which is held in Hutchinson, Kans., between March 22-26.
The game began with a bang as the T-Birds jumped out to an early
15-4 lead with a heads-up play by both Nate Perry and Quinn Barfield,
drawing fouls and hitting three pointers.
Cochise quickly gained their composure and rallied back to take
the lead, capping a 9-0 run halfway through the second quarter.
By the end of the first half, the Apaches had opened up a 10 -point
lead on the Thunderbirds, jumping ahead47-37.
The second half began much like the first half ended, with careless
passing and poor shot selection by the T-birds, while Cochise continued
to capitalize on Mesa’s mistakes with a barrage of scoring.
The Apaches kept the throttle down with key three pointers and kept
pressing the T-Birds into costly turnovers.
Mesa began with what appeared to be the start of a comeback in the
early stages of the fourth quarter when Perry and Barfield energized
the crowd with stellar defensive play, leading to an 7-0 Mesa run.
The T-Birds closed the gap back to an 8-point deficit, but just
as things started to go their way, the Pendulum swung back the other
way.
Cochise halted the short lived rally and never looked back, opening
up a 20-point lead, finally finishing off MCC, 90-67.
The T-Birds had a difficult time maintaining any momentum in the
game, despite taking an early lead in the first quarter.
Forward Quinn Barfield, who finished 6 of 16 from the floor with
24 points and 13 rebounds, noted the team might have become complacent
after jumping out to an early lead.
“We got comfortable, started taking things for granted. When
good teams get on a roll, it’s hard to weather the storm and
bounce back.”
Forward Nate Perry also contributed with 22 points, 10 rebounds
and was 8-16 from the floor and hit several off balanced shots.
The key to the game however, was the bench play of both teams, with
Cochise’s bench outscoring Mesa’s 29-7.
Assistant Coach John Mulhern took notice of how his team was lacking
intensity and how his players would see some changes in how they
prepare for the final two games of the season, which will be crucial
in deciding who goes to the NJCAA tournament in Kansas.
“Our practices have been less than intense lately, and you
practice like you play, so I think we need to pick it up a little
this coming week,” Mulhern said.
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