For Glendale Junior College's high-scoring 6-foot-5 sophomore guard/forward Ronald March, a big scoring outburst has become very common this junior college season, as the gifted wing prospect has poured in numerous big scoring efforts this season in almost every game for the Gauchos. But his best performance this season may have come on Wednesday evening, when his surging Glendale (10-8, 7-8) team would knock off one of the conference's top teams - Mesa Junior College. In a 92-83 home victory over Mesa, March would finish with a game-high 36 points - leading his team to their second big win in a row.
Mesa (17-4, 13-2) came into Wednesday night's game in first place in the conference, while Arizona Western held on to second place in the conference. Last Saturday evening, Glendale defeated Arizona Western on the road - handing the Matadors their second loss on the season in conference play. Arizona Western would also lose on Wednesday evening to Eastern Arizona (62-61), their 3rd loss of the junior college season. As a result, Mesa will still hold on to first place in the conference heading into Saturday's match-ups.
In Wednesday's big win over Mesa, March would catch fire - shooting 12 for 22 from the field and an impressive 8 of 12 from three-point distance. Glendale would also get 14 points and 8 rebounds from 6-foot-9 sophomore post Jordan Didier, who has really came on as of late, while 6-foot-2 sophomore combo-guard Alex Johnson would finish with another strong effort for himself - 14 points and 11 assists.
"Alex has been the key," said Glendale head coach Damin Lopez. "He has really turned it up and that is helping us win games."
Alex Johnson also came up big for Glendale in their recent road win over Arizona Western, after Glendale recently released two of their players - 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Anthony Hendrix and 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Enoch Rhemadji for disciplinary reasons.
Glendale caught fire as a team on Wednesday evening - shooting 53.6% from both the field and also three-point distance in the game. Glendale's ability to put up 45 points in the game's first half would tell the story, as a 45-37 halftime lead would allow them to keep pace throughout the game. The two teams played even in the second half, while Mesa shot only 36% from the field in the game.
Mesa 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Camyn Boone finished with another strong effort for himself, collecting 26 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. University of Tulsa assistant coach Brett Ballard was in attendance for the game to watch Boone and he did not disappoint.
Top-rated national junior college scouts Jerry Mullens and Mike Miller would both be in attendance for the game.
