DANVILLE — Depth and diversity has been a strength for top-seeded and undefeated Pima Community College all season.
The Aztecs have five players averaging double figures but sophomore guards Cohenj Gonzales and Kota Benson struggled in their first game at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament on Tuesday, making just 7-of-19 from the field.
That wasn’t the case in Thursday’s quarterfinals against the Davidson-Davie Storm.
Gonzales and Benson combined for 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting as Pima advanced into Friday’s semifinals with an 86-82 victory over the Storm on the Dick Shockey Court at the Mary Miller Center.
“They are both rock solid and they have been that way the entire year,” said Pima coach Brian “Peacock” Peabody. “Cohenj didn’t play well on Tuesday. I think he came out ready to play.
“If he doesn’t do what he did today, we don’t win.”
The Aztecs (34-0) easily won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Storm 40-26 but their 13 offensive rebounds resulted in just 12 second chance points.
“We just didn’t shoot it well,” said Peabody, whose team shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) against Davidson-Davie. “In the first half, we were 2-of-13 from the 3-point line.”
In the second half, Pima stayed mostly inside the arc, making 57.1 percent of their shots (16-of-28).
Gonzales had a team-high 22 points, while Benson finished with 17 and five assists. Also reaching double digits were Mason Hunt with 17 off the bench and Gabe Oldham had 14. Wes Ball, who sealed the victory with two free throws in the final seconds, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Davidson-Davie (30-4) had three players score more than 20 points. Aden Taylor had a game-high 23 as well as a team-high nine rebounds, while Ethan English and Lamonte Cousar had 22 and 21 respectively.