Needing a win to pull back into a tie for first place in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College men's basketball team suffered a 71-58 loss to Long Beach City College. Not only does the loss prevent the Falcons (13-9, 4-3) from moving into first place, it actually drops them into fourth place with three divisional games remaining. The team will host Los Angeles Harbor College on Monday at 5:00 p.m. in another of their rescheduled games.

Down by a point at halftime, Cerritos opened the second half with freshman center Jackson Barnhill (Long Beach Wilson HS) draining a three-pointer. With both teams trading the lead throughout the second half, the Vikings then turned to Bonard Johnson, who scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half. His three-pointer with 10:05 left put LBCC up, 52-45, while a Shane Hunter three-pointer made it a 10-point deficit for the Falcons.

After four straight points from sophomore Juice Belvin (St. Anthony HS) made it a 61-56 game, Johnson came right back and connected on a three-pointer for the Vikings. That six-point deficit would be the closest Cerritos could get down the stretch, as Long Beach City controlled the boards in the second half.

Belvin came off the bench to lead the team with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Barnhill added 13 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. He also connected on all three of his three-pointers in the game. Freshman guard Jalen Shores (Lakewood HS) posted 10 points and had six rebounds, while Andre Fields (Warren HS) came off the bench to pull down a team-high eight rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson