Taking on the state's #1-ranked team, the Cerritos College men's basketball team knew they had to earn a win to keep their hopes of a high seed for the Southern California Regional Playoffs intact. The Falcons snapped ECC Compton Center's 15-game winning streak and handed them their first home loss, as they came away with a 91-84 South Coast Conference South Division overtime win on Friday.

With the win, Cerritos is now 17-6 overall and 3-3 in the South Coast Conference South Division with four regular season games remaining, while the Tartars dropped to 22-4 and 5-1. The Falcons will host Los Angeles Southwest College (13-11, 4-2) at 5:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

With 2:37 left in regulation, Cerritos held a 78-71 lead after a Brian Nebo (St. John Bosco HS) layup. But turnovers would prevent them from scoring the remainder of overtime, as the Falcons turned the ball over seven times, while going 0-for-1 from the field and 0-2 from the free throw line. Compton had a chance to take the lead with :11 second left, but Dajaon Henderson missed his second free throw attempt. A late turnover gave Compton a chance at the win in regulation, but Jayvon Brown missed a three-pointer.

In the five-minute overtime, it took both teams 1:27 to score, as freshman Jonathan Guzman (Paramount HS) broke the tie when he converted the first of two free throws. Compton responded with one free throw before sophomore Devan Burrell (Centennial HS/Cypress College) drove the basket and scored on a layup for an 81-79 lead. After a missed Tartars shot, freshman Riley Hamilton (Rancho Verde HS) finished a fast break with a slam dunk and a four-point Cerritos lead.

Although they struggled from the free throw line during regulation, sophomore Tyler Payne (La Mirada HS) allowed the Falcons to hold their lead, as he converted 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and added a layup. Freshman Malik Smith (Gahr HS), who led the team with 16 points off the bench, also made good on a pair of free throws down the stretch.

On the night, Cerritos shot 56% from the field and 53% from the free throw line. In addition to his 16 points, Smith also added six rebounds and four assists, while Nebo posted 15 points and five rebounds. Before fouling out, sophomore Cristian Perez (Santa Fe HS) recorded 13 points and four boards, while Payne finished with 11 points. Off the bench, the duo of Guzman (seven rebounds) and Dezmon Murphy (La Mirada HS) each scored eight points.