Locked in a tight battle with visiting Los Angeles Southwest College in a South Coast Conference game on Friday night, the Cerritos College men's basketball team was able to pull away for an 81-74 win. The Falcons (7-10, 1-1) were led by sophomore Micah Winn (Crenshaw HS), who scored a game-high 24 points, including a couple of key baskets late in the game to lead the way. Cerritos will now travel to El Camino College for a 7:00 p.m. conference game on Wednesday.

With the game deadlocked at 67-67, Winn drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4:43 to give the Falcons a jumpstart to a 9-2 run that would help secure the win. A Damon Horton layup made the score 70-69, but Winn followed with another bucket, which was followed by a blocked shot from freshman Jonathan Brown (Fairfax HS) and a pair of free throws from Brown. Sophomore Josh Bell (Long Beach Wilson HS) stole the ball on the next Cougars (6-7, 0-2) possession and freshman Jay Merriweather (Temescal Canyon HS) scored on a layup for a 76-69 lead.

Merriweather (12 points) added another basket and free throw down the stretch, as the Falcons overcame 8-for-19 free throw shooting in the second half. Bell finished the night with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Jeff Gonzalez (Riverside Poly HS/Riverside City College) scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, which helped the Falcons hold a slim 41-39 lead at intermission.

For the Cougars, they relied on the 16 points and nine rebounds that Reggie Fields gave them off the bench, including a pair of free throws that gave them a short-lived 55-52 lead with 13:00 left in the second half.