With the Cerritos College men's basketball team holding down first place in the South Coast Conference South Division, each game the remainder of the season becomes more critical. The Falcons improved to 7-0 in conference play and 13-7 overall after their 89-72 win against ECC Compton Center (8-10, 3-4) at Compton College on Wednesday. The team will now host Mt. San Antonio (19-2, 6-1) in an important game at 7:00 p.m. on Friday at The Aviary.

In the win over the Tartars, Cerritos received great balance, with freshman guard Kevin Conrad (Buena Park HS) leading the way with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and six rebounds. A quartet of Falcons scored in double-figures, while two posted double-doubles. Off the bench, sophomore David Hall (Lynwood HS/Yavapai, AZ CC) produced 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, with sophomore forward Marquise Washington (Westchester HS/Cypress HS) finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

The Falcons took a 43-36 lead into the half and held the lead throughout the remainder of the game. The Tartars took 89 shots on the night, but converted only 34% of them, while Cerritos was 36-of-72 from the field, which countered their 21 turnovers.

Sophomore Anthony Holliday (Norwalk HS) posted 16 points in the board, while sophomore guard Chris Wyms (King-Drew HS/West Los Angeles CC) came off the bench to account for eight points and four assists. For ECC Compton Center, Wesley Harris led all scorers with 24 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Photo by Daryl Peterson