Taking on a deceptive Los Angeles Trade-Tech College team, who entered with just three wins on the season, the Cerritos College men's basketball team was able to post a 79-71 win on Friday. The victory by the Falcons (13-5) was their third in a row and sixth in the last seven games. They will open South Coast Conference South Division play on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., as they travel to Compton College.

With the lead changing hands every several minutes, the Falcons saw their lead hover around three points for six straight minutes in the second half. After freshman Gary Williams (Dominguez HS) converted a free throw with 5:40 left, Cerritos led, 67-64. After a missed shot by the Beavers (3-17), sophomore Justin Stephens (Gahr HS) connected on a short jumper to make it a 69-64 lead with 4:35 on the clock.

But LA Trade-Tech followed by closing the gap to 69-67 after a Roland MacDougal three-point play. Freshman Christian Bennett (Redondo Union HS) and Williams followed with buckets on the team's next two possessions to extend the Cerritos lead to 73-67 with 3:05 left. With the lead sitting at 73-69, Bennett hit a three-pointer from the corner, which turned out to be enough of a buffer for the Falcons, who opened their largest lead of the game at 76-69 with 1:55 remaining. Sophomore Gorden Boykins (St. Anthony HS) closed out the game by converting 3-of-4 free throws.

The game produced 60 total free throws on the night, with Trade-Tech (22-of-27) and Cerritos (26-of-33) relying on their success at the line when their shots weren't falling.

Sophomore Jalen Shores (Lakewood HS), who converted 7-of-9 free throws, led the team with 18 points and also added four assists, while Boykins tossed in 14 points, with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Stephens, who finished with 13 points, pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, with Williams recording 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Bennett and sophomore Dennis Johnson (Compton HS) both contributed seven points, along with a combined five rebounds and four steals.