It wasn't the prettiest way to win a game, but the Cerritos College men's basketball team will take their 73-66 South Coast Conference South Division win at Los Angeles Southwest College on Wednesday night. The Falcons, who won their fifth straight game, remain in first place in the division with a 5-0 mark, while they are now 11-7 overall. On Friday at 6:00 p.m., the team will host their first game in The Aviary since 2010 after the gym was released to the college with construction nearly complete after being refurbished. Cerritos will take on Pasadena City College in a conference crossover game.

After opening a 26-8 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game, thanks in part to 12 Cougars (6-12, 2-3) fouls, the Falcons found themselves struggling to convert free throws, which could have put the game out of reach early on. But after going 14-for-22 in the first half, the team connected on only 18-of-29 in the second half. All the while LA Southwest was finding their outside shooting touch, as Charles Glaster netted four three-pointers to get the game to within 64-62 with 2:55 remaining.

A steal and fast break layup by freshman Kevin Conrad (Buena Park HS) put the team up 66-62, while in the final minute, the team connected on all six of their attempts from the charity stripe to close out the win. In fact, every Falcon player that saw action attempted at least one free throw on the night.

Conrad, who accounted for 13 of his 20 points in the second half, scored 11 of them in the final 11 minutes of the game and pulled down seven rebounds. Additionally, sophomore Anthony Holliday (Norwalk HS) added 20 points despite struggling from the free throw line (7-of-13), while chipping in with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

They were the only Cerritos players to score in double figures, while sophomore David Hall (Lynwood HS/Yavapai, AZ CC) came off the bench to haul down nine rebounds and score six points after sophomore Marquise Washington (Westchester HS/Cypress College) was limited in his production due to foul trouble.

By the end of the game, 57 fouls were called, while the two teams combined for 83 free throw attempts.