The Cerritos College men’s basketball team posted wins over both Reedley College (68-67) and Bakersfield College (78-70) to capture the championship of the San Diego Mesa Tournament over the weekend. The wins put the Falcons at 5-4 on the year, as they open the Glendale Tournament on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. against College of the Canyons. Earlier in the year, Cerritos defeated the Cougars, 70-63.

    Sophomore guard Jerell Elder (Long Beach Millikan HS) led the team with 17 points in the win over Reedley, while sophomore guard Aaron Thompson (Washington Prep HS) finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. In the waning minutes of the game, the Falcons converted 8-of-9 free throws to hold off the Tigers, with freshman Wayne Chapman (Bellflower HS) netting the final two to win the game. Chapman added 10 points and connected on 6-of-6 free throws in the second half, while sophomore guard Aaron King (Mayfair HS) chipped in with 11 points and three rebounds.

      Thompson led the team with six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore forward Travele Jones (Inglewood HS) finished with nine points and three rebounds. As for freshman Van Girard (Gahr HS), he pulled down three rebounds and dished off two assists, with Elder leading the team with three steals.

      The win over Bakersfield in the championship game not only gave the Falcons a victory, but it gave first-year assistant coach Jeff Hughes a win over his brother Rich, who is the Renegades head coach.

      In that game, Thompson led all scorers with 25 points, while he also contributed five rebounds and four assists, as Cerritos pulled out to a double-digit lead in the first half and didn’t look back. In addition to the performance by Thompson, King finished with 17 points and netted all five of his free throws, while Jones was a factor on both ends of the court. Along with his 14 points, he blocked nine shots, dished out six assists and pulled down six rebounds. Elder also played an all-around game, as he scored nine points, while adding five assists, five steals and four rebounds.