Pima College's men's basketball team defeated No. 11 Delta College 102-94 Friday at the NJCAA Division II national tournament, and will play Saturday for the first national championship in program history.Ìý
The No. 2 Aztecs (31-4) will play No. 1 seed Triton College in Saturday's title game in Danville, Illinois. The game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ time, can be streamed on the .Ìý
That moment when it hits....YOU'RE PLAYING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!
— PimaAthletics (@PimaAthletics)
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Sophomore guard Isaiah Murphy said the win was "like a dream come true."Â
Sophomore wing Keven Biggs hauled the Aztecs in the Elite Eight game against Highland on Wednesday, scoring a season-high 34 points on nine 3-pointers. Friday, it was the backcourt's turn: Murphy and Alize Travis carried the team with 41 combined points. Travis also notched a double-double with 11 assists.Ìý
But the Aztecs committed 23 turnovers, which kept Delta in the game.Ìý
"We got erratic with the ball, and had a lot of turnovers that turned into easy baskets and that's kind of uncharacteristic for our guys," Pima coach Brian Peabody said.Ìý
In a back-and-forth shootout, Travis hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to give Pima a 100-91 lead.Ìý
"We had to stay poised the whole game and I feel like we did that well," Murphy said.Ìý
In the three NJCAA Tournament games, Pima averaged 104 points in each contest.Ìý Â
Pima is now 5-0 when it plays on a neutral court this season. The Aztecs will rely heavily on their bench depth. The team's four key reserves were a huge factor in Friday night's win.
"It's been like that all year. We've got nine guys that I trust and every kid that played tonight was an important part to our victory and it'll be the same way tomorrow," Peabody said.
Award-winning sports journalist, University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ graduate and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ native.Ìý