Cerritos College Athletics - 2008-09 Men's Basketball News: Falcons clinch division championship with win

Photo by Juan Velez.
Falcons clinch division championship with win.

For the second season in a row, the Cerritos College men's basketball team clinched the South Coast Conference South Division championship. The Falcons, who needed a win to secure sole possession of the title, posted a 69-51 win over rival Long Beach City College at The Aviary on Wednesday night. The win improved the team's record to 18-10 overall, while they concluded their divisional season with a 7-1 mark. The Falcons will now wait until Monday to find out where they are seeded for the Southern California Regional Playoffs and whether or not they will receive a bye in the first round.

It looked like Cerritos would be in for a struggle against the Vikings (8-15, 4-3), who turned a 32-29 halftime deficit into a 38-32 lead by scoring the first nine points of the second half. But the Falcons turned it around by going on a 16-2 run to take a 48-40 lead. The run was extended to a 66-46 lead with 4:10 remaining in the second half.

In fact, the game started with the Vikings scoring a quick six points to start the game. But Cerritos slowly worked their way back in and too their first lead at 17-16 after freshman guard Greg Howell (Artesia HS) drained a three-pointer with 8:15 left in the first half. The Falcons found their stroke and coupled that with several fast break baskets that took the wind out of the Vikings.

After a pair of free throws by freshman forward Willie Edwards (Moreno Valley HS) put Cerritos on top 42-38, sophomore guard Ken Brown (Soldan, MO HS/Southwest Tennessee CC) stole the inbound pass and scored to give the Falcons the momentum they needed to pull away.

Brown led the team with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while the duo of Edwards (five rebounds, three assists) and sophomore forward Marcellus Jackson (Independence HS) each scored 12 points. Jackson was also a force under the basket, leading the team with nine rebounds, while he blocked five shots. As for the Vikings, they were led by Stephen Armstrong (14 points) and Chris Brown, who has 12 points and 12 rebounds.