For the third time this season, the Cerritos College men's basketball team swept through their competition to win a tournament. On Saturday, the Falcons (12-2) capped off winning the College of the Sequoias Tournament when they defeated Ventura College, 77-71. They opened the tournament with an 84-66 win over Oxnard College and then outlasted the host Giants, 95-90 in overtime. Cerritos will now travel to Los Angeles Pierce College for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game on December 22.

Cerritos vs. Oxnard: The team opened the tournament by taking a 20-point halftime lead against the Condors and never looked back in posting an 18-point victory. They took an 11-3 lead early in the game, with sophomore forward Anthony Lefeau (Orange Lutheran HS) accounting for six of the points. The lead swelled to 18-3 on a Brian Nebo (St. John Bosco HS) basket, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore Salvador Carlos (Downey HS/Biola University) and a bucket from sophomore Tyler Payne (La Mirada HS). Oxnard got as close as 57-51 with 10:37 remaining, but tournament MVP Payne netted a pair of free throws, followed by a Dezmon Murphy (La Mirada HS) basket to get the lead back to 10 points. Nebo finished the night with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Murphy posted 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench. Sophomore Cristian Perez (Santa Fe HS) chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds, with Payne concluding with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Cerritos vs. College of the Sequoias: The Falcons let a 11-point (31-20) first half lead slip away and went into halftime with a 43-37 advantage. Perez drained a three-pointer and then a bucket for a game-high 15-point second half advantage (55-40) with 16:16 left in the second half. The Giants tied the game at 64-64 on a Taber MacFadden three-pointer with 8:23 on the clock, while Cerritos trailed, 75-72 with 4:12 remaining. Carlos and Perez hit consecutive three-pointers, followed by a Payne layup for a five-point advantage. The Falcons failed to score the final 2:04 of regulation and after Sequoias' Austin Armstead scored in the final :26 seconds, the game went to overtime. Trailing 87-86, the Falcons scored nine of the final 12 points to post the win, thanks to seven Payne points. He finished with a game-high 28 points, while all-tournament pick Lefeau chipped in with 18 points, while Perez had 17 points. Murphy came off the bench to produce 16 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

Cerritos vs. Ventura: A tight game from start to finish, the Falcons were able to secure the victory by netting seven of their final eight free throws in the final :34 seconds. Leading 70-67 with 1:28 remaining, neither team was able to score until Payne was fouled after a Pirates turnover. He netted both free throws, while Nebo made one of two for a 73-67 advantage with :26 seconds left. It was 73-68 until freshman Malik Smith (Gahr HS) converted the final free throws of the game to seal the victory. Four of the five starters scored in double-figures, led by Payne, who had 14 points. Perez (12 points, eight rebounds) and Carlos (11 points, nine rebounds) played a big role on both ends of the court, as did Nebo (11 points, six rebounds) and Lefeau (nine points, eight rebounds). Murphy came off the bench to add 10 points.