02.13.08 - Travele Jones led all scorers with 21 points and had 11 rebounds to help Cerritos defeat Long Beach City College 69-63 Wednesday night. Photo Gallery

    Knowing that a shot at being selected to make the Southern California Regional Playoffs rests on the team’s ability to win the remainder of their games this season, the Cerritos College men’s basketball team held off a second-half surge by Long Beach City College at home on Wednesday night and came away with a 69-63 victory. The win improved the Falcons record to 14-13 overall and 3-3 in South Coast Conference South Division play, while the Vikings dropped to 16-13 and 2-3. Cerritos will now look to exact revenge on Los Angeles Southwest College next Wednesday when they take to the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

    Throughout the game, the Falcons played with enthusiasm, which started from the moment head coach Gary Cain sang the National Anthem. Cerritos jumped out to an 8-0 lead, with sophomore forward Travele Jones (Inglewood HS) netting a three-pointer from the baseline to get the crowd to erupt. The lead was up able to get to nine points (30-21) with 3:48 remaining in the first half after sophomore guard Aaron Thompson (Washington Prep HS) hit two free throws.

    In the second half, Cerritos continued to work hard on defense and attempted to shut down the explosive Viking outside attack, which haunted the Falcons in their first meeting. The aggressive defense allowed the team to break on offense, with Jones slamming home two buckets in consecutive possessions, while freshman guard Wayne Chapman (Bellflower HS) hit a short jumper with 15:37 remaining to give Cerritos a 44-33 lead. After a layup by Thompson gave the team their biggest lead of the night (46-33), LBCC guard Vance Lawrence decided to get his team back in the game single-handedly.

    Over the next 7:30, Lawrence scored nine points, including a three-pointer with 8:07 to get the Vikings to within 50-49. The Cerritos lead went back and forth between one and three points the rest of the way until a pair of free throws by sophomore Aaron King (Mayfair HS) put the Falcons up, 66-63 with 30.8 seconds left. Lawrence, who scored all 15 of his points in the second half, missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game, but his missed shot was rebounded by King (10 points, nine rebounds), who converted both free throws to seal the victory.

    Jones led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while freshman guard Van Girard (Gahr HS) finished with 11 points and five offensive rebounds, Both Thompson and King each added 10 points, with freshman Ramon Williams (Bellflower HS) coming off the bench to add eight points. For the Vikings, Lawrence (15 points, four rebounds), Matt Richard (12 points, seven rebounds) and Shawntell Norman (10 points, seven rebounds) all scored in double figures.