Continuing their ascension up the standings in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College men's basketball team won their fourth in a row on Wednesday night. Hosting Los Angeles Southwest College, the Falcons (18-6, 4-3) posted a 65-63 win, which moves them into second place in the division with three regular season games remaining. They are two games behind leader ECC Compton Center and will travel to Los Angeles Harbor College for a 5:00 p.m. game on Friday.

Leading 51-39 with 12:21 left in the second half after a Jonathan Guzman (Paramount HS) basket, Cerritos slowly started watching the Cougars (13-12, 4-3) get back into the game. They got to within four points several times, the latest being a 57-53 advantage with 2:53 left on the clock.

The Falcons, who hurt their chances of closing out the game by converting only 3-of-10 free throws in the second half, held a 64-57 lead after freshman Dezmon Murphy (La Mirada HS) drained a three-pointer. They would be held to just one point the rest of the game, as LA Southwest relied on Jawan Butler-Stevens (17 points) to keep them in the game while leading scorer Jordan Young was out of the game with an injury.

But once Young returned, the Cougars started their comeback and go to within 64-63 with 9.8 seconds after he netted a pair of free throws. Freshman Riley Hamilton (Rancho Verde HS) made one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds left for a two-point Cerritos lead. With a chance at the game-winning shot, Young, who finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds, received a bad return pass, which prevented him from getting off a clean half court shot at the buzzer.

Playing without sophomore Salvador Carlos (Downey HS/Biola University), Hamilton stepped into the starting lineup and produced 10 points, six rebounds and three steals in a solid effort. Sophomore Cristian Perez (Santa Fe HS) scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half, while sophomore Brian Nebo (St. John Bosco HS) accounted for 13 points and four rebounds. Murphy produced 12 points off the bench.

Photos by Daryl Peterson