T-birds drop tough one to South Mountain
The Mesa men’s basketball team hosted the South Mountain Cougars on January 24th in a hard fought game that neither team wanted to lose. One team must triumph, however, and this night it was the Cougars that won by a score of 77-68.
The game was much tighter than the score may suggest with the game being as close as three points with under a minute to play. In a hard fought first half South Mountain took a 34-29 lead into the locker room on the strength of a buzzer beating bomb from just inside half court.
On a strong effort by Gabe Freeman, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Mesa came back and took a 58-56 lead with under 10 minutes left.
Mesa, though, couldn’t contain the shooters from South Mountain. When the Cougars hit a three point shot with just over forty seconds left to play to take a 72-66 lead, it forced Mesa to start fouling. Jessie Childs added a lay-up in the final minute to finish with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
That would not be enough, however, as South Mountain converted their free throw opportunities to extend their lead to the 77-68 score that would be the final.
Other notable performances for the T-birds included Adam McCoy who finished with 12 points and two assists and John Pena who contributed 14 points, two rebounds and assists. Mesa has now lost three games in a row and is in the middle of the pack with a 5-5 record in the conference.
Mesa’s next game is against Scottsdale Community College where the T-birds will attempt to turn their season around.
Volume
44, Issue 8. Today is
Scott Seligman/Mesa Legend
MCC forward Gabe Freeman goes up strong for a layup against South Mountain on January 24th. MCC lost 77-68.