Matador men, women play critical games at Central Arizona

JUCO MEN'S BASKETBALL

Matadors, Vaqueros clash today

With both teams having identical conference records, playoff implications could be on the line when the Arizona Western men's basketball team travels to Coolidge.

The No. 20 Matadors (21-4 overall, 16-1 in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) play at No. 16 Central Arizona (20-3 overall, 16-1 in ACCAC) at 4 p.m. today and hope to push their winning streak to 11.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Vaqueros took the lead for good with four minutes left in the game and held on for a 72-64 victory — Arizona Western's only blemish in conference play. DeAndrew Mathieu, who leads Central Arizona is assists (6.6), steals (2) and is second on the team in scoring (16.4), torched the Matadors for 30 points in the game.

The two teams also met in last year's Division I Region I Final, which the Matadors won 57-51.

JUCO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Matadors face first-place Vaqueras

The first time the Arizona Western women's basketball team faced Central Arizona, it gave the Vaqueras all it could handle but lost 58-54 at home.

Now the Matadors travel to Coolidge to play Central Arizona, which is 23-1 overall and is in first place at Division I with a 15-0 record in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. The game tips off at 2 p.m. today.

The Matadors (20-5 overall, 12-3 in ACCAC) were tied 49-49 in the second half with Central Arizona in their first meeting, but the Vaqueras pulled away for a four-point win. Central Arizona's offense, which scored 80 points a game, is led by Brea Edwards, who averages 22.6 points a contest.

The two teams met in last year's Division I Region I Final, when the Vaqueras beat the Matadors 68-59.