Second Half Surge Falls Short

The No. 14 Santiago Canyon College men's basketball team hosted the Copper Mountain College Fighting Cacti on Tuesday night in a non-conference showdown. The Hawks found themselves down by double digits at halftime but battled back in the second half to pull within two points of the lead with a minute remaining. However, Copper Mountain was able to hold on and hand the Hawks a 68–64 loss.

The Hawks outscored Copper Mountain by 12 points in the second half, but it was not enough to erase the deficit. They shot just 35.2 percent from the floor, including a 20.8 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Fighting Cacti also relied on strong bench production, scoring 22 points compared to the Hawks' 10.

Freshman guard Jacob De Armas carried the Hawks offensively, finishing with a career-high 27 points after scoring just seven in the first half. He came up three rebounds short of a double-double and added four steals, three assists, and a blocked shot. He has emerged as SCC's top scoring option, recording double-digit performances in five of the last six games.

Freshman big man Ryan Weber was the only other Hawk in double figures, contributing 11 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Salim Semaan added eight points, while freshman guard Paris Lassiter pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and recorded two assists.