Matador men’s hoops fall in Region I Final

A lopsided second half ended up putting the end to the Arizona Western Matadors (11-3 overall) Region I Championship bid as they fell 83-62 to the Cochise Apaches (11-2 overall) Saturday afternoon in the Region I Final.

The Matadors hung tight in the opening half and slowly slid behind Cochise, in what was mostly a 1 and 2 point difference for much of the period, to a five point hole at the half.

Arizona Western shot just 37% from the field and had just two players in double-figures with Mojus Mojus leading with 15 points and Malik Salahuddin adding 12.

Brian Rios hit a trio of three’s in the second half to help spur the Apaches. He finished tied with ACCAC Player of the Year Stephen Byard with a game high 18 points each.

Jonathan Garcia chipped in 10 of his 16 points in the second half to help the Apaches clinch their first Region I Championship in five years and punch their ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Arizona Western, the 22nd ranked team in the country, will await for the at-large bids to be announced Sunday night to see if their season will continue.

JUCO softball

Despite dropping their third straight in the opener of the double-header, the No. 14 Arizona Western Matadors (22-8 overall, 11-3 ACCAC) bounced back to salvage a split at the Central Arizona Vaqueras (1710 overall, 11-7 ACCAC) Saturday afternoon.

The Matadors failed to give Anahi Grijalva any run support in the first