Still trying to rebound from a pair of close home losses, the Cerritos College men's basketball team found themselves in another battle on Monday night. The Falcons, playing a make-up game from a previously postponed game, had to recover from a slow start against host Rio Hondo College before recording a 90-86 win. The win improves the Falcons record to 12-8 overall and they will resume South Coast Conference South Division play on Wednesday when they travel to Los Angeles Harbor College.

The Roadrunners (1-19) opened a 10-point lead (44-34) late in the first half until Cerritos outscored them 10-4 in the final 3:12 to draw to within four points at intermission. Freshman Garrett Bell (Sonora HS) drained a three-pointer with just two seconds left to make it a 46-42 going into halftime.

Cerritos came out in the second half and took a 53-52 lead on a three-pointer from freshman center Jackson Barnhill (Long Beach Wilson HS), who scored a season-high 23 points in the night. Another Barnhill trey pushed the Falcons lead to 69-62 with 8:48 left on the clock. Barnhill and freshman Malik Johnson (Compton HS) accounted for the team's next 10 points and with time running out, sophomore Dorian Harris (Cerritos HS) hit a jumper to help the team remain in the lead with 3:32 remaining.

Taking advantage of a pair of Roadrunner turnovers, the Falcons increased their advantage to 85-78 after Barnhill and Harris baskets. Freshman Jalen Shores (Lakewood HS) then netted four consecutive free throws to put the Falcons in front, 89-80 with :29 seconds remaining. Rio Hondo battled back with a pair of three-pointers, while Shores missed two free throws in between those possessions. With the Roadrunners looking for one last shot attempt, Shores converted one of two free throws with 11.2 seconds left to secure the victory.

Barnhill connected on 10-of-13 field goals and added five rebounds, while Johnson poured in 21 points to go along with four steals and four rebounds. Shores posted an 18-point game, while freshman guard Gorden Boykins (St. Anthony HS) came off the bench to post 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Harris was dominant on the boards with his 13 rebounds, along with nine points.