Sometimes when facing a team that has yet to win a game on the season, there can be a sense of not taking them seriously. That may have been the reason behind the slow start for the Cerritos College men's basketball team in their game against winless Los Angeles Trade-Tech College in their South Coast Conference crossover game on Wednesday.

The Falcons (11-8) found themselves trailing 18-4 to the Beavers (0-14) in the first half before they turned in a solid second half performance. The result was a 66-51 win that the team hit nine three-pointers (in 32 attempts), which was helped along with their 23 offensive rebounds.

Leading the team in their outside shooting was freshman Tyler Payne (La Mirada HS), who converted 6-of-8 and led the team with 18 points. Payne gave the team their first lead of the game at 40-39 on his trey with 15:17 left in the second half. Sophomore Jay Merriweather (Temescal Canyon HS) hit a three from the corner for a 46-41 lead with 11:19 left.

Once Cerritos took the lead, they did not relinquish their advantage. Payne netted consecutive three-pointers to put the team up by 14 points (62-48) with 2:00 minutes left and the outcome decided. Merriweather finished with a pair of three-pointers and had eight points on the night.

Freshman Brian Nebo (St. John Bosco HS) limited the Beavers to just one shot attempt in most of the possessions in the second half, pulling down 12 of his 16 game-high rebounds in the second stanza. Six of his boards also came on the offensive end and he added 13 points in the win. Although he struggled from the field (3-for-15), freshman Luis Medearis (View Park HS) scored six of his nine points in the all-important second half and also added seven rebounds. Freshman Elvis Okafor (International School of Lagos, Nigeria) converted a pair of three-point plays and pulled down five rebounds.

Cerritos will now travel to Pasadena City College on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. conference crossover game.

Photos by Daryl Peterson