Leading for the majority of the game, the Cerritos College men's basketball team was outscored, 17-10 in the final five minutes and dropped a 77-72 South Coast Conference crossover game to visiting East Los Angeles College on Wednesday. The Falcons (7-8) will travel to Mt. San Antonio College on Friday for another 5:00 p.m. crossover game.

Cerritos led by as many as 14 points (36-22) in the first half after going on an 8-0 run. But the Huskies (10-5) responded with five straight points after that to get back into the game. Freshman Dillon Botts (Mayfair HS) accounted for six of those eight points for the Falcons, who took a 41-33 lead into halftime.

Sophomore Eric Clark (Cerritos HS) opened the second half with a three-pointer to put the team in from by 11 points, while he scored six consecutive points for a 51-41 Cerritos lead with 13:41 remaining in the second half. Each time East LA would close the gap again, a different player would step up for the Falcons. Sophomore Cameron McCoy (Taft HS) netted a pair of free throws with 8:03 left to regain a double-digit advantage (61-51).

The Huskies responded by scoring nine straight points to close to within 61-60, as Daniel Michelini-Jackson posted six straight points during that run. A baseline three-pointer from freshman Marcel Hayes (Long Beach Poly HS) increased the lead to 65-60 with 4:43 left on the clock, while Botts followed with two free throws to make it a seven-point lead.

After East LA got back to within 67-64, sophomore Taeo Thomas (Verbum Dei HS) knocked down a three-pointer for a 70-64 lead with 2:54 left. In what turned out to be the team's final points of the game, Botts hit a short jumper with 2:31 left. The Huskies would go on to score the final 11 points of the game to post the victory, as the Falcons went 0-for-3 with a pair of turnovers in their final five possessions.

Botts led the Falcons with 22 points and added five rebounds, with Henry adding 10 points off the bench. The duo of Thomas and Clark each scored 12 points, while McCoy pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson