 |
Photo by
Juan Velez.
Cerritos defeated LA Harbor 79-73
Friday night to close out the regular
season on a winning note. |
|
More
Photos |
|
Although it wasn't
as dominating as their more recent wins, the
Cerritos College men's basketball team did exactly
what they needed to do in order to close out their
regular season on a winning note. The Falcons, who
have now won nine in a row and 10 of their last 11
games, pulled out a 79-73 South Coast Conference
South Division win over Los Angeles Harbor on Friday
night. Cerritos, champions of the South Division,
end their regular season record at 14-13, while they
went 9-1 in divisional play. The winning record is
the first for the team since they started the season
2-1. The Falcons will find out on Monday where they
fit in with the 20 teams that will make the Southern
California Regional Playoffs. The top six seeds will
receive a first round bye, which will be played next
Wednesday at the home of the higher-seeded team.
In a game against
a team that had been struggling all season, the
Falcons were unable to shake off the Seahawks (5-24,
2-8). In the first half, the game was tied or there
were lead changes 11 times, although LA Harbor held
a five-point lead to start the game and then at
27-22 with 5:45 remaining. Cerritos then went on
14-4 run, thanks in part to consecutive
three-pointers by freshman guard
Jeremy Pope
(Mayfair HS) and sophomore guard
Van Girard
(Gahr HS) and lead 36-35 at intermission.
The Seahawks were
then able hold a 46-39 lead with 16:01 remaining, as
forward Jonathan Williams was a scoring machine.
After scoring 15 of the team's points in the first
half, he added 17 in the second half, which included
streaks of seven straight points for the team on two
occasions.
Just as they did
in the first half, Cerritos turned to the outside
jumper, and freshman guard
Brian
Barner (Palisades HS) was
right there to oblige. He hit one to cut the deficit
to four points and followed with two more, as the
teams continued their trend of ties and lead
changes. In all, the score was tied 14 times and the
lead changed hands another 15 times.
A key play late in
the game was an offensive rebound and basket off a
shot that would have seen the shot clock expire.
However, sophomore guard
Jeremiah
Barnes (Los Altos HS) was
there and scored with 38 seconds left that put the
Falcons up 75-71. Barner and Girard then followed by
making their free throws to secure the victory.
Girard came off
the bench and was a crucial component to the team
staying in the game and consequently winning the
game. He converted 10-of-18 shots and scored 25
points, while 10 of his team-high 13 rebounds came
on the offensive end. Barner, who went 6-for-11 from
three-point range, added 21 points, with Barnes
finishing with 10 points, five assists and four
steals.
Cerritos shot only
37.5% from the field, compared to 56.3% by the
Seahawks. But it was a 21-11 margin in offensive
rebounds, coupled with LA Harbor turning the ball
over 22 times, with the Falcons committing nine
turnovers.
Preer did finish
with 10 points to go with his seven second-half
points, while Pope (six points, five assists, three
steals) played well, while freshman forward
Marcellus
Jackson (Independence HS) was
shackled with three first-half fouls and finished
with just six points and six rebounds. Williams
poured in 32 for the Seahawks, while John Raquel (15
points) and Lemmie Crocker (12 points) also scored
in double-figures.
|
