Thunderbirds Pull Away from Cochise in 2nd Half

The Thunderbirds took down Cochise College 81-63 Saturday afternoon.

The offense was stale in the first half for the T-Birds. NMJC led 12-6 through the first 9:30 of the game. Armon Jarrard's layup plus the foul gave NMJC a 34-20 lead with a little over 2:00 minutes to play in the half.

Cochise cut the lead to single digits at the end of the half to make the score 35-26. The T-Birds struggled in the first half offensively, shooting 27.5% and 15.8% from three.

The Apaches were within seven points, 41-34, following a jumper with 17:29 to go in the second half. A Jayden Spearman 3-pointer with 12:57 extended the Thunderbird lead to 13 points and put the T-Birds in front 52-39. Cochise was unable to cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the game falling by 18 points to NMJC by a score of 81-63. 

The second half was far kinder to the Thunderbirds offensively. The T-Birds shot 57.1% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point land. 

Wing Isaiah Alexander recorded a career-high 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Guard Armon Jarrard finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

Deuce Benjamin came off the bench with 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Jannoy Thomas tallied 12 points, five assists, and four rebounds.

Guard Rodrigo Farias ended the afternoon with nine points and five rebounds. Forward Francois Nkoy-Eale also chipped in five rebounds.

The T-Birds shot 27-of-68 (39.7%) from the field, 8-for-32 (25.0%) from the 3-point line, and 19-of-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. The Thunderbirds forced 18 turnovers, held the Apaches to 36.5% from the field and 21.1% from three-point land. 

The T-Birds move to 4-0 on the season and will face Central Arizona College in Hobbs, NM Monday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. MST.