Corona del Sol remained perfect in section play beating Mountain Pointe Friday on the road 71-58.

Big blocks by Alex Barcello and Saban Lee fueled the Aztecs, and so did their offense. Barcello (27 points, 5 rebounds) led the team along with the help of Lee (19 points). 

The Aztecs did most of their damage within the paint, with an occasional three pointer. The Aztecs improved to 22-2 overall, 8-0 in region, while Mountain Pointe dropped to 11-12 overall, 2-6 in region.

Aztecs head coach Neil MacDonald kept his team focused coming into the game knowing Senior Night festivities at Mountain Pointe could motivate the Pride.

“We got some good shots in transition,” MacDonald said. “I think we need to work on our zone offense some more, and I think our rebounding was lacking big time tonight.”

The Aztecs ran a 2-3 zone throughout the second half, helping them keep an 11-point lead for most of the final two quarters.

Mountain Pointe head coach Hosea Graham had one goal for his team going into the game.

“I just wanted them to compete, to say we belong on the floor with a team of this caliber," Graham said. 

Graham leaned on Mountain Pointe senior shooting forward Logan Matulis (16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and senior forward Sage Cardoza (6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist) to get things going for the Pride.

Graham made moves throughout the game to fire up his players and try to close down Corona del Sol’s lead.

Graham reminded his offense to slow down and not rush its shots, because he knew the Aztecs would capitalize on those mistakes. Graham sent in junior shooting guard Amarion Cash (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) to try and sway the momentum of the game.

Cash made his presence felt on the floor, grabbing multiple rebounds on both ends of the court.

“My goal was just to contribute,” Cash said. “I wanted to help my team any way possible.”

But the Aztecs didn’t squander their second half lead and made 27 of 30 free throw attempts.

Lee secured the momentum in the fourth quarter with a crossover move to get past a defender, finishing the play with a dunk.

Delia is a sports journalism major at Arizona State.