Chandler, AZ-- A historic season for the CGCC Coyote Men's Basketball team came to an end on Saturday evening as they lost in the NJCAA Region 1 Tournament Championship to the second seeded Pima College Aztecs. Despite taking a nine point lead early in the first half, the visiting Aztecs prevailed 64-61 and cut down the nets as region champs on the Coyote floor. Costly turnovers late in crunch time and cold shooting from the home team was what led to defeat despite a strong defensive effort. The Aztecs typically score triple digits in every game but were held to only 64 points.
However, the Coyotes have a lot to be proud of as they made history all season. The 27 wins is a program record and they finished the year as ACCAC Regular Season Champions. Steve Silsby, in his 10th year as the skipper for the club was named ACCAC Coach of the Year. Sophomore point guard Justin Fisher was named Defensive Player of the Year, as he was the head of the snake that only allowed a league best 65 points per game. And Andre Harris, the big man for the Yotes in the paint was ACCAC Player of the Year.
The majority of the sophomores on the roster plan on moving on to 4-year universities at the end of the Spring to continue their education and basketball careers. Steve Silsby said, "Coach Peabody and his team at Pima earned the win Saturday night and even though we lost, I'm very proud of the accomplishments of this group and the development as young men off the court that I have seen from these guys over the course of the year."
