02.08.08 - Aaron King had 17 points and four rebounds to help Cerritos defeat El Camino 69-52 Friday night. Photo Gallery

    In their first meeting, the Cerritos College men’s basketball team hit such a dry spell in the second half, that they were out-scored by El Camino College, 19-0 and lost by 20 points. In their second encounter, the Falcons hit all the right shots at the right time, and came away with a 69-52 South Coast Conference South Division win at The Aviary on Friday night. The victory puts Cerritos back in the hunt in the divisional race with a 13-13 overall mark and 2-3 in the South Division, while the Warriors fell to 17-9 and 3-2. The Falcons get another chance to reply to a first round loss when they host cross-town rival Long Beach City College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

    Even though the Falcons went up 22-5 with 10:50 left in the first half, the outcome of the game wasn’t decided until almost midway through the second half. Riding the tenacious defense that led to fast break baskets, Cerritos methodically picked apart the Warrior defense, while they caused their offense plenty of trouble. However, it was only a five-point game (34-29) after Marcellus Cullors drained a three-pointer to start the second half for El Camino. But that would be as close as they got, after consecutive fast break layups by sophomores Aaron King (Mayfair HS) and Travele Jones (Inglewood HS) helped the lead get back to nine points. From that point on, it was all Cerritos, as they received double-digit scoring from three players.

    King, who drained a pair of three-pointers in the first half, concluded the game with 17 points and four rebounds, while freshman Van Girard (Gahr HS) was instrumental in the win with his all-around play. When he wasn’t slashing to the basket to connect on 5-of-8 field goals, he was pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. He finished with 11 points and also blocked two shots. As for Jones, he ran the break at every opportunity and led all scorers with 18 points, along with nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

    As for El Camino, they lived and died by the three-pointer in both meetings. It worked the first time around, but in the second meeting, they made just 4-of-23 and shot 29% from the field. By contrast, Cerritos only attempted 11 three-pointers, but connected on 48% of their shots and out-rebounded El Camino, 45-32.

    Sophomore guard Aaron Thompson (Washington Prep HS) added six points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Wayne Chapman (Bellflower HS) dished out eight assists, along with seven points, six rebounds and four steals. Off the bench, the team received a solid six points and three rebounds from sophomore guard Darrell Thomas (King/Drew HS).