Through the first 40 minutes of their South Coast Conference crossover game on Friday night, the Cerritos College men’s basketball team had converted 16-of-22 free throws, while Los Angeles Trade-Tech had connected on only 5-of-17. The game was also tied, 74-74 at the end of regulation, but not before a spectacular come-from-behind blocked shot by sophomore guard Aaron King (Mayfair HS) on Robert Summers at the buzzer. But, in the extra period, the Beavers (14-1), ranked second in the state, netted 2-of-4 free throws, while the Falcons (7-7) were only 3-of-8, as LATT escaped with an 82-79 win.

    Cerritos had several chances in overtime to tie the game after falling behind, 80-74. First, King missed a three-pointer after LATT’s Marquis Dubose turned the ball over with 44.5 seconds left. Then, after another Beaver turnover, freshman guard Wayne Chapman (Bellflower HS) saw his last-second three-point shot come up short and the Falcons missed out on the upset.

    It appeared as though Cerritos was in line for a big victory, leading 67-57 with 6:11 remaining after a steal and slam dunk by sophomore guard Aaron Thompson (Washington Prep HS). But, LA Trade-Tech slowly worked themselves back into the game, thanks in part to three consecutive layups from Jamal Clay. His third bucket tied the game at 74 with 22.4 seconds left. The Falcons called timeout with 14.1 seconds remaining to set up the final shot. But sophomore guard Jerrel Elder (Long Beach Millikan HS) had the ball stolen by Dubose, who passed off to Summers. Looking to drain the final three seconds off the clock, he went in slowly for a layup, only to have King come from behind and swat the ball away as the buzzer sounded, which sent the game into overtime.

    In the extra period, LA Trade-Tech scored the first six points, as they converted 3-of-5 shots, while the Falcons were only 1-of-8 from the field in the final five minutes.

    Cerritos opened the game strong and played at a tempo in which they thought would best suit them against the high-flying LATT team. At times, the Falcons pushed the speed of the game up to their liking and it seemed to catch the Beavers off guard. But, to their credit, LA Trade-Tech continued to fight and not only took their first lead of the game in overtime since a 19-18 advantage with 8:30 left in the first half, they made their free throws when it counted.

    Thompson led the Falcons with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore forward Travele Jones (Inglewood HS) finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. King added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Chapman checked in with 12 points and five assists. For LA Trade-Tech, they were led by Summers, who scored 19 points off the bench, while Joseph Morgan (12 points, three rebounds, three assists) and Clay (nine points, eight rebounds) also played well.

    Cerritos will now travel to San Jose for a tournament next Thursday through Saturday.