By ED PETRUSKA Staff Writer Casa Grande Dispatch

SIGNAL PEAK — Sean Potter was much more than a pleasant surprise for the Central Arizona College men's basketball team on Wednesday night.

Potter went 7 for 10 on three-pointers and finished with 26 points as the Vaqueros rolled to an 84-59 victory over Tohono O'odham at the George Young Activity Center. The seven three-pointers were a season best for a CAC player.

"I wasn't surprised because he's been steadily chipping away in practice," CAC coach Tramaine Aaron said. "He's become even more coachable than he was at the beginning of the season. He was definitely prepared for a night like this, and he answered the call."

Potter, a freshman from Show Low, came in averaging 1.6 points in nine games. He started in place of Trace Dimeff, who was benched for disciplinary reasons.

The Vaqueros (12-7, 7-5 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) never trailed against the Jegos (5-15, 2-10). They led by as many as 28 points in registering their most lopsided win of the season against an ACCAC opponent.

It was an excellent way to begin the second round of conference play for Central, which trailed Eastern Arizona by one game for the fourth and final Division I Region 1 playoff spot going into Wednesday's games.

"This was a huge boost for us," Aaron said. "It was good to get ahead and stay ahead."

Seven of CAC's final 10 regular-season games are on the road.

"It's going to be a task (to stay in playoff contention) but we're looking forward to the challenge," Aaron said.

After having nine of their first 10 ACCAC games decided by five points or fewer, including an 87-84 come-from-behind win at Tohono O'odham on Nov. 18, the Vaqueros have won two straight by double-digit margins.

Potter knocked down four three-pointers in the first half, which ended with the Vaqueros holding a 40-23 lead. His final three came with 20.4 seconds remaining.

Mike Nwabuzor had a triple-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. Karriem Simmons, who sat out the first half for disciplinary reasons, scored 17 points in the second half on 7-of-10 shooting. Josh Rideau had eight points and 16 rebounds.

Rounding out the CAC scoring were JaQuan Johnson with nine points, Dashawn Shelton with six, Brendan Jackson with three and Chad Miller with two.

Lual Magot had 11 points and Taveon Jackson scored 10 for the Jegos, who shot 28 percent from the field. Tohono O'odham went 5 for 28 on three-pointers after starting 1 for 17 from beyond the arc.

The Vaqueros shot 52 percent in the first half despite enduring a 10-possession stretch in which they went 1 for 6 from the field with four turnovers.

Simmons scored 15 of CAC's first 20 points of the second half. He made two free throws with 14:24 remaining to give the Vaqueros their largest lead at 55-27.

The Jegos whittled the margin to 16 on Taveon Jackson's basket that made it 60-44 with 9:10 to play. Central answered with a 12-2 run, going up 72-46 on Simmons' basket with 5:48 left.

The Vaqueros shot 53 percent for the game, making 9 of 22 three-pointers going 30 for 57 overall.