Locked in an offensive battle with visiting Compton College on Friday, the Cerritos College men's basketball team came away with a 90-82 victory. It marked the fourth win in a row for the Falcons (11-9, 2-0), who will now travel to Los Angeles Southwest College for a 5:00 p.m. South Coast Conference South Division game next Wednesday.

Cerritos started to pull away from the Tartars in the first half, as they turned a 15-14 advantage into a 30-20 lead after a three-pointer from freshman Marcel Hayes (Long Beach Poly HS) with 9:13 left on the clock. That lead jumped to 38-22 after buckets from freshman Darron Henry (Long Beach Poly HS) and sophomore Miles Ceballos (Crossroads HS/Ventura College). The largest lead of the game (42-24) came with 3:52 left in the first half after a Taeo Thomas (Verbum Dei HS) jump shot.

Compton opened the second game going on a run to draw to within 52-48, the Falcons had several responses, the biggest being a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Everett May (Los Alamitos HS). The second one put Cerritos back in front by seven points, and after the Tartars got to within 64-61, May started to restore order with a driving layup. Ceballos and Botts each followed with high-percentage shots, while Botts and Thomas each responded with layups after Compton once again closed the game to three points.

The Falcons secured the win by converting their final 10 free throws after going 4-for-13 before that stretch.

May led the team with 20 points, while he knocked down four three pointers, while Thomas added 18 points and three rebounds off the bench. Henry (six rebounds) and Botts (four steals) combined for 29 points, while Ceballos, who had a triple double on Wednesday, accounted for seven points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Photos by Daryl Peterson