At one point during the
season, it appeared as though the Cerritos
College men’s basketball team would be on
the verge of missing the post-season for the
second year in a row. But thanks to a
five-game winning streak at the end of the
season, the Falcons were selected to play in
the Southern California Regional Playoffs.
They won their play-in game and then set
their sights on #3-seeded Los Angeles
Trade-Tech College, a team they lost by
three points to in overtime earlier in the
season. The 16th-seeded Falcons
overcame a 10-point second half deficit
(62-52) with 9:27 left in the second half
and led 81-80 with 25 seconds remaining.
But, an offensive rebound and tip-in by the
Beavers Nick Pacetti with 13 seconds left
lifted LA Trade-Tech (26-4) to an 83-81 win,
which ends the Falcons (17-14) season.
It
was a running jumper by freshman guard
Van Girard (Gahr HS) that
gave Cerritos their 81-80 lead with 25
seconds left. However, it was a pair of
three-pointers by sophomore forward
Travele Jones (Inglewood HS)
that helped put the Falcons up 75-74 with
2:56 remaining that helped bring the team
back from their deficit. But after the late
basket by Girard, the Beavers came down and
Marquis Dubose got off the first shot, but
Pacetti was there to tip the ball in for a
Beaver lead.
With
a chance to take the lead, the Falcons drove
down the court, only to have the ball bounce
off the leg of freshman guard
Wayne Chapman (Bellflower HS)
in the final seconds. A late foul and free
throw gave LATT their two-point win.
Cerritos led by as many as nine points
(37-28) in the first half after sophomore
guard
Aaron King (Mayfair HS)
nailed a three-pointer. The lead held up
until 17:34 remained in the second half when
Dubose hit a jumper to give LA Trade-Tech a
45-43 lead. They upped their lead to 10
points (62-52), before the Falcons started
their comeback attempt.
Jones was electrifying at times in the
game, as he finished with a game-high 27
points, along with 10 rebounds, six blocked
shots, three assists and three steals.
Girard added 18 points, eight rebounds and
four steals in the loss, with King finishing
with 14 points and seven rebounds. The
Falcons played the first half without the
services of the team’s leading scorer,
sophomore guard
Aaron Thompson (Washington Prep
HS), who contributed five rebounds and a
team-high five assists in the second half
before fouling out.
