• DMACC and PCC will play March 19 at 1 p.m.
• PCC is also 28-4 for the season
• Both teams have high scoring offenses

The DMACC men's basketball team might be looking at a mirror image of itself when it faces Pima Community College (PCC) in the first round of the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DII Men's Basketball Championship at Danville, Ill.

The game will be played March 19 at 1 p.m.

DMACC is the tournament's eighth seed and PCC is seeded ninth. Both teams bring a 28-4 record into the matchup and both can score at will. The Bears average 94 points a game and PCC averages 100 points per outing. DMACC surpassed 100 points in 12 of its 32 games and the Aztecs scored 100 or more points 19 times, including two games with 150 or more points.

"The way they play, as fast as they play, there's a lot of similarities," DMACC men's basketball coach Blake Sandquist said. "They try to get the ball up the court as fast as possible, they'll shot a lot of threes and they'll crash the boards hard like we do. It's a very similar and familiar style of play."

In addition to their scoring, both teams have similar shooting percentages. DMACC is shooting 51 percent from the field, including 36 percent from three-point range. PCC is shooting 54 percent from the field, including 40 percent from three-point range. The Bears make 73 percent of their free throw attempts and PCC is at 69 percent. PCC is averaging 48 rebounds a game and DMACC is at 43 rebounds a game.

Sandquist said PCC doesn't really compare to any of DMACC's 2023-24 opponents and he likens the Aztecs to his own team.

"The closest comparison would be us," Sandquist said. "The personnel is a little different but as far as playing style goes, they are definitely a match to us."

Five DMACC players average in double figures, led by sophomore Angelo Winkel of Algona at 16.7 ppg. Sophomore Trey Lewis of Johnston is at 14.7, sophomore James Glenn of Altoona is at 12.3 and sophomores Elijah Thomas of Surprise, Ariz., and sophomore Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., are at 10.9 and 10.7 respectively.

PCC is led by sophomore Dillon Baker who is averaging 18 points a game. Freshmen Cohenj Gonzales and Gabe Oldham are averaging 15 and 14 points a game respectively.

DMACC will go into the game looking to play a fast-paced game but Sandquist said that could change depending on the flow of the game.

"I'm not opposed to making alterations," Sandquist said. "I think as a coach you have to be adaptable and flexible to what the game presents and what we think we can be successful doing."

Sandquist said keys to winning are keeping PCC out of transition and not giving the Aztecs easy looks offensively.

"If we can win the fast breaks, I like our chances," Sandquist said. "On offense, moving the basketball, looking for great shots and being who we are I think we'll have a great chance."

The DMACC-PCC winner will face Hocking Community College (HCC), South Arkansas Community College (SACC) or top-seeded Davidson-Davie Community College (DDCC) in a quarterfinal game March 21 at 5 p.m. HCC and SACC will meet In a play-in game today and the winner will face DDCC March 19 at 11 a.m.

The DMACC-PCC loser will move to the consolation bracket with a chance to finish as high as third place in the tournament