SIGNAL PEAK — A lengthy dry spell derailed an upset bid by the Central Arizona College men's basketball team on Wednesday night.

Mesa went on a 16-5 run to turn a 52-49 deficit into a 66-56 lead with 5:15 to play, and the first-place Thunderbirds held on to edge the Vaqueros 73-68 at the George Young Activity Center.

A 3-pointer by Jose Olivarez capped an 8-0 surge that gave Central (8-6, 1-5 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) a 52-49 lead with 11:16 remaining. The Vaqueros went 1 for 8 from the field and committed six turnovers on their next 14 possessions.

Girts Lazdans converted a 3-point play and made two free throws as CAC clawed back into contention with a 9-1 run that narrowed the margin to 67-65 with 2:05 left. Josiah Westbrook's 3-point play with 40.2 seconds remaining pulled the Vaqueros within 70-68.

Mesa's Michael Vos-Otin missed two free throws with 30.9 seconds remaining, but Central could not capitalize. Noe Anabir's second-chance basket off Obi Megwa's steal put the Thunderbirds (10-3, 5-1) up 72-68 with 18.2 seconds left, and CAC's final two possessions ended with missed 3-pointers.

The Vaqueros led 35-29 at halftime. Karriem Simmons went 4 for 6 on 3-pointers and scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. Central was 8 for 16 on 3-pointers in the first half, but made just 2 of 14 in the second.

Isaiah Bellamy had 15 points for the Vaqueros, 11 in the first half.

Vos-Otin and Jamil Wilson-Jones both scored 17 points to lead the Thunderbirds. Austin Denham had 14 for Mesa, which was held 18 points under its season average of 91.3.