Hosting crosstown rival Long Beach City College on Friday night, the Cerritos College men's basketball team came away with a 66-61 South Coast Conference South Division win. The Falcons (15-7, 2-2) will now travel to El Camino College on Wednesday night for a 7:00 p.m. divisional game.

In a game that saw the lead change hands several times in the second half, the Falcons were able to capitalize on a multitude of Vikings (12-10, 0-4) miscues which enabled them to maintain their lead. After Long Bach City opened a 60-56 advantage with 4:55 remaining, Cerritos tied the game on a pair of Christian Bennett (Redondo Union HS) free throws, followed by a short jumper from inside the free throw line by Jalen Shores (Lakewood HS). A second straight LBCC turnover led to a slam dunk from Taeo Thomas (Verbum Dei HS), while Cerritos was able to transition after a missed Vikings shot and scored on a Gorden Boykins (St. Anthony HS) layup for a 64-60 lead with 3:09 remaining.

The play became sloppy after that, as the team combined for three missed shots, while the Falcons turned the ball over three times. But Long Beach City was unable to take advantage of any of those opportunities, and when Shores netted a pair of free throws with 1:19 left, that would turn out the be the last points in the game. In the final five minutes, the Vikings were 1-for-9 from the field with three turnovers.

Thomas led the Falcons with 14 points, six rebounds and six steals off the bench, while Shores finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win. Boykins finished with nine points and five boards, with the duo of Bennett and Justin Stephens (Gahr HS) each posting seven points, with Stephens also bringing down eight rebounds.