Cerritos College Athletics - 2008-09 Men's Basketball News: Cerritos opens season with home loss

Photo by Juan Velez.
Cerritos College Men's Basketball opened the 2008-09 season with a home loss Friday night. The Falcons look to rebound in the Irvine Valley Tournament next week.

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Through the first 37:30 of their 2008-09 season opener, the Cerritos College men's basketball team had played MiraCosta College to a 61-61 tie. However, the Spartans outscored the Falcons, 11-4 the remainder of the game and recorded a 72-65 non-conference win over Cerritos at The Aviary on Friday night. The game was also the first for new head coach Jesse Teplitzky. The Falcons will now compete in the Irvine Valley Tournament, which will take place next Thursday through Saturday and the team will open with College of the Canyons at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Sophomore guard Van Girard (Gahr HS) tied the game at 61-61 with a short jumper after Cerritos had opened up a four-point lead (57-53) with 5:11 remaining in the second half. But Spartan CJ Harris took the game over in the final two minutes and scored six straight points. Steven Hernandez drained a three-pointer from the baseline with 2:13 left to put the Spartans up by three, 64-61 and Cerritos attempted to tie the game with a three-pointer of their own from freshman guard Sean Chennault (Ben Franklin, PA HS), but his miss was handled by Harris, who scored two of his game-high 22 points. Harris added to more on a breakaway after sophomore guard Jeremiah Barnes (Los Altos HS) saw his long rebound land in the hands of Harris.

Cerritos led by as many as six points in the game at 20-14, but surrendered that lead by the half and trailed, 38-37. It wasn't until a three-pointer by freshman guard Brian Barner (Palisades HS) that the Falcons regained the lead, 52-51 with 6:48 left in the contest. Sophomore guard Gregory Preer (St. Vincent St. Mary (OH) HS/Ashland (OH) University) netted a three-pointer that gave Cerritos their four-point lead, but that's as close as the team would get to victory.

Girard led the Falcons with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Barber (10 points, six assists) and freshman Marcellus Jackson (Independence (San Jose) HS), who had 10 points and seven rebounds, also scored in double-figures. Cerritos struggled from the three-point line, making just 5-of-25, while the Spartans were 17-of-25 from the free throw line. Daniel Phair also added 15 points for MiraCosta.

11.12.10 - Falcons come back to defeat Fullerton

11.05.10 - Cerritos opens season with win over Shasta

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Last Update: 11/09/2008

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