Glendale CC Edges South Mountain Community College Men’s Hoops

The South Mountain Community College men's basketball team lost 81-77 to Glendale Community College Wednesday night in an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference contest at SMCC. Sophomore Kareem Clark led the Cougars with 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

The Gauchos held a narrow one-point lead, 41-40, at halftime. Glendale barely pulled away in the second half, out-scoring SMCC 40-37 in the final 20 minutes.

SMCC shot 39.4 percent (28 of 71) from the field for the game and 31.6 percent (6 of 19) from 3-point range. The Cougars dished out 13 assists, recorded 13 steals and had only 10 turnovers.

In addition to his season-high 28 points, Clark added two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 32 minutes of action. He is now averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for the season.

Sophomore Makael Rainbow finished second on the team with 16 points. He was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line and added a team-high four assists, two rebounds and two steals in defeat. For the year, Rainbow is averaging a team-high 13.4 ppg and shooting 44.6 percent from the field.

Freshman Anthony Jaramillo added 10 points of the bench for SMCC. He knocked down two 3-pointers and tied for the team lead with three steals. Freshman Jalen Gant had a team-high five rebounds to go with his three steals while fellow rookie Shawn Black posted seven points, three steals, two blocks and a rebound.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they host Central Arizona College for a 4 p.m. contest.