Men clinch top seed; ACCAC season champs

Rene Gomez

Men’s basketball defeated the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes 92-75 on Feb. 18 at Heap Gymnasium.

Freshman guard Andrew Jones scored 27 points on 9 of 13 shooting and 5 of 8 from three-point range.

Sophomores Camyn Boone had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Shy McClelland scored 10 points and had 14 assists as both players got double doubles.

As a team Mesa shot 57.7 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three point range.

The T-Birds also outrebounded the Coyotes 34-24, had more assists with 25-8, and outscored Chandler-Gilbert in the paint 36-20.

Mesa was able to create many shot opportunities for every player on the floor and Jones was a benefactor from it.

“I made my first two and after that it was just open and I was feeling the rhythm,” Jones said.

Sophomores Tre Ogles and Ryan Hintze combined to score 19 points boosting the T-Birds when starters needed rest.

Mesa did not have to worry about the Coyotes after the first half when they went into halftime with a 44-29 lead and at one time had a 26 point lead.

The T-Birds closed out the regular season with a 77-64 win at Eastern Arizona on Feb. 21 and finished with the ACCAC championship and the No. 1 seed for the upcoming regional tournament.

Boone posted another double double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, McClelland scored 18 and sophomore Kyle Tomlinson added 11 more.

Mesa’s regular season record was 23-5 overall and 19-3 in conference play.

Even though they are the top seed, Mesa is not done working hard towards their goal.

“We still got to continue to get better because our ultimate goal is to win a championship,” Boone said.

Mesa is not just pushing for a regional championship because they have the conference and national championships on their checklist too Boone said.

McClelland and Boone were both selected for All-ACCAC and Region I First Teams.

Head Coach Sam Ballard earned a second Coach of the Year honor; the first was from the 2009-10 season.

Ballard coached the T-Birds to two consecutive 20 win seasons.

The district playoff is scheduled for March 8, but the time and location have not been announced.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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