The Cerritos College men's basketball team made the most of their first home game in The Aviary since 2010, as they posted a 95-85 South Coast Conference win over Pasadena City College on Friday. The Falcons, who won their sixth game in a row, had been forced to play home games at neutral sites while the gym was closed for renovations. The victory kept the team in first place in the SCC South Division with a 6-0 mark, while the also improved to 12-7 overall. They will travel to Compton College on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. conference games against ECC Compton Center.

Although they won by just 10 points, Cerritos held the lead from start to finish, including a 21-point advantage (71-50) with 10:23 left in the second half. However, the Lancers (6-13, 2-4) were buoyed by the outside shooting of Mike Swanegan, who drained four three-pointers, including one with 2:14 left to get to within 87-82. But the Falcons, who continued to struggle at the free throw line (22-of-42), saw sophomore Anthony Holliday (Norwalk HS) convert three of his final four in the last 45 seconds to secure the win.

Cerritos jumped out to a quick 15-4 lead with sophomore Marquise Washington (Westchester HS/Cypress College) accounting for eight of the points. Just as they did in the second half, PCC turned to one player to stay within striking distance. It was Jeffrey Dockett, who finished with a game-high 21 points, who did the job early on, with 15 of those points coming in the first 20 minutes.

Working his way to the inside, where he scored all nine of his baskets, freshman guard Kevin Conrad (Buena Park HS) led the Falcons with 21 points, while Holliday contributed 19 points and three assists. Not to be outdone, Washington finished the game with 18 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Off the bench, sophomore Chris Wyms (King-Drew HS/West Los Angeles College) accounted for 11 points and a team-high five assists. Dockett (24 points, nine rebounds) and Swanegan (22 points) led Pasadena City.

Photo by Daryl Peterson