Cochise Men's Basketball sweeps ACCAC Rival Arizona Western College on the road

YUMA, Ariz.-- Cochise Men's Basketball bounced back this week to defeat their arch-rival the Arizona Western Matadors this past Wednesday and Thursday in "The House" Gymnasium on the campus of Arizona Western College 91-83 and 69-68 respectively.  

Wednesday, December 13th: Cochise 91, Arizona Western 83

In game one Cochise used a very good offensive attack combined with stingy defense to jump out to a 52-29 halftime lead. Arizona Western did cut the lead to under 10 points with under 10 minutes to play but the Apaches held on for the 91-83 win. Cochise was led by Sophomore Jalen Barbee who had 34 points with 7 three-point field goals.

Thursday, December 14th: Cochise 69, Arizona Western 68

In game two Cochise was down 33-25 at halftime and trailed for most of the second half. Sophomore guard Jordan Hernandez made a steal and converted a lay-up drive to put the Apaches up 69-68 with 11 seconds left to play in the game. Cochise was able to get the defensive stop to seal the win as the buzzer sounded.  Hernandez led the Apaches with 20 points while Barbee chipped in 14 points and added 11 rebounds on the night.

Cochise moves to 8-5 overall and 2-3 in ACCAC play.  

In His Words, Cochise Head Coach Jerry Carrillo

"As we all get used to our new unbalanced ACCAC schedule, our guys continue to fight and band together as a unit. I could not be more proud of how our guys bounced back after getting beat on our home court last weekend.  We came out in game #1 and defended so well, and we flowed much better offensively, thus we were able to score the ball better to seal the win. In game two, we only made 1 three-point FG, yet our guys showed a lot of toughness and grit to get the sweep on the road. Not many road teams win in "The House", much less win back-to-back nights.  Our Sophomores were very impressive as they showed so much character on this road trip."

Up Next...

Cochise Men's Basketball (8-5, 2-3) returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 28th as they travel to Tucson to play in the Aztec Classic hosted by Pima Community College. Aztec Classic as follows: 12/28 vs. #5 Snow College, 12/29 vs. McClennen, and 12/30 vs. #2 Salt Lake CC.  The Apaches have won the Aztec Classic the last two years going 6-0.  All games tip off at noon in the Aztec Gym on the campus of Pima College in Tucson, AZ.