The Voice - Student Newspaper

Men's team drops two of three to contenders

Three games against the three top teams in the conference last week provided a measuring stick for the Gauchos.

Glendale still has some growing to do.

The Gauchos started a rough stretch in the schedule with an encouraging win over the Mesa Thunderbirds, shutting them down 81-65 on their home floor.

The win was impressive, given that Mesa was third in the conference as well as a Division I opponent (Glendale is in Division II).

The Gauchos were unable to carry over their underdog success at Cochise last Wednesday. The Apaches effectively snuffed out the Gauchos, beating them 102-74.

Cochise's Victor Reid, one of three Apaches in the conference's top five in scoring, scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds against the overwhelmed Gauchos.

Glendale returned home Saturday hoping to lick their wounds, but found an unsympathetic opponent in conference leader Arizona Western.

After trailing by as many as fifteen in the second half, Glendale came within two in the late stages thanks to an offensive explosion by reserve guard Cam Cacciatore. The sophomore nailed six three-pointers in the second half on his way to 19 points for the game.

It wasn't enough to dig them out of their hole, however. After cutting the lead to 73-71, Glendale's offense deserted them, leaving them on the short end of a 78-72 loss.

The back-to-back losses put Glendale three games behind devision leader Chandler-Gilbert, as well as the rights to home-court advantage in the playoffs next month, with four games left in season play.

Please send comments to mnpetersen@gccvoice.com