Opening the 2021-22 season with a pair of games at the College of the Desert Tournament, the Cerritos College men's basketball team recorded a pair of victories. The Falcons (2-0) opened with a 69-58 win over Mt. San Jacinto College and followed that with a 92-70 win over the host Roadrunners. Next up for Cerritos will be the Irvine Valley Tournament on Thursday with a 5:00 p.m. game against College of the Canyons.
In the win over the Eagles, the Falcons trailed, 33-31 at intermission, but took a 34-33 lead after a three-point play from freshman Jalen Shores (Lakewood HS). That was followed by another three-point play from sophomore Jaishon Forte (Rancho Verde HS), with Cerritos opening a 37-33 advantage after just two possessions. Mt. San Jacinto was able to work their way back into the game and took a 43-41 lead with 13:01 remaining on the clock. The teams traded the lead for the next 11 minutes until sophomore Dorian Harris (Cerritos HS) put the team up for good with consecutive three-pointers, with the Falcons opening a 60-55 lead with 2:15 left. In the final minute, Shores was good on 6-of-7 free throws to secure the victory.
Shores led the team with 19 points, which included 10-of-11 free throws to go along with seven rebounds and four assists, while Forte accounted for 14 points and seven boards. Harris came off the bench to contribute his 13 points, while the bench also received seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds from sophomore Andre Fields (Warren HS).
In the win over the Roadrunners, Harris showed why he is considered to be one of the best shooters in California at the community college level. In just 21 minutes of action, Harris drained 7-of-11 three-pointers and finished with a game-high 31 points, as the Falcons started to pull away late in the first half and never looked back. Just as impressive as his shooting numbers, which included going 9-of-15 from the field, Harris pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and dished out three assists.
Opening the game with a 6-0 lead, the Falcons showed their outside shooting abilities, as they netted seven three-pointers in the first half and 13 for the game. The Eagles did take a brief 27-26 lead with 4:41 remaining in the opening half, but Cerritos closed out the half on a 18-3 run and continued to build the lead. Shores also added 11 points, while Malik Johnson (Compton HS) pitched in with nine points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win. Freshman Jackson Barnhill (Long Beach Wilson HS) added eight points and four rebounds, with the bench receiving seven points from freshman Justin Stephens (Gahr HS).