YUMA, Ariz. – The Arizona Western Matadors Men's Basketball team (18-6, 11-5) used a late second-half run to pull away from Central Arizona (5-16, 4-12) for the 86-76 win on Wednesday night at the House Gymnasium.

Marquis Hargrove scored a career-high 27 points, topping the mark set back on February 26, 2021, when he scored 24 points against Community Christian.

Central Arizona opened a pair of six-point leads early, opening the game on a 6-0 run before building a 9-3 lead. The Matadors used a 10-3 run to grab their first lead of the night and were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the first half, building their largest lead of eight points, eventually taking a 43-37 lead into the break thanks to 14 first-half points for Hargrove.  

The Matadors saw their lead slowly evaporate early in the second half before the Vaqueros took a 57-54 lead with under 10 minutes to play. Evan Butts and Isaiah Amato hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Matadors the lead back at 60-57, stretching the lead to 66-55 with an 8-0 run.

Yaxel Lendeborg finished the game as the Matadors' second-leading scorer, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Matija Gledic set a season-high with 11 points while Isaiah Amato was the fourth Matador to finish in double-figures.

The Matadors are back at home on Saturday, February 11, hosting Chandler-Gilbert at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors (65 and over) and military. Arizona Western students and employees receive free admission with their AWC ID.