With time running out and the Cerritos College men's basketball team clinging to a 62-61 lead over visiting Porterville College on Tuesday night, all the team needed to do was maintain possession of the ball and convert their free throws if they got fouled. 

Sophomore Cameron McCoy (Taft HS) converted one of two free throws with 1:01 remaining to put the Falcons (2-4) on front, 62-61. The Pirates (3-3) drove down and missed their next shot attempt, with McCoy pulling down the rebound, with Cerritos calling timeout with 40 seconds remaining in the second half. On the inbounds, the Falcons were unable to advance to ball past midcourt and turned the ball over, with Porterville's Raven Ortiz driving in for a layup with 19 seconds left.

Now looking for the last shot, Cerritos once again turned the ball over and were forced to foul. The Pirates Akeives Shorts converted both free throws to make it a 65-62 Porterville lead. The team had a chance to tie the game, but freshman Darron Henry (Long Beach Poly HS) missed a three-pointer. The Falcons did get another last shot in the game when Porterville was called for a five-second inbounds violation with two seconds left. Henry got off one last shot, but it was off-line.

The Falcons out-rebounded Porterville, 39-30, but hurt themselves by converting only 13-of-20 free throws.

Sophomore Miles Ceballos (Crossroads HS/Ventura College) led the team with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while McCoy contributed 13 points and eight caroms. Freshman Dillon Botts (Mayfair HS) posted 10 points and four rebounds off the bench, with JeeDyn Lundy (Warren HS) pulling down seven rebounds to go with his four points. Shorts led all scorers with 26 points.

Cerritos will host Cypress College at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.