MESA — The Cochise College basketball team won the NJCAA Division I Region I championship, upsetting top-seeded Mesa Community College on Monday night with an 83-74 win.
Daniel Hernandez scored 33 points and earned the game’s MVP honors. He helped lead Cochise to a 21-point lead early in the first half before Mesa battled back and stayed close the rest of the game.
Jordan Martin finished with 14 points, Emanual Shepherd had 11, and Arell Hennings added nine points and eight assists. Brayon Blake scored seven points and pulled 14 rebounds.
Cochise will face Region-18 champion College of Southern Idaho at home on Saturday night for the one-game district playoff, but regardless of the game’s outcome, both teams have a berth to the NJCAA national championship in Hutchinson, Kan., which starts March 16.
