On Friday at the South Coast Conference Tournament, the Cerritos College men's water polo team won their first game, but dropped their second and will play for third place on Saturday. The Falcons (18-13) opened with a 19-4 win over Rio Hondo College, but were then defeated by Mt. San Antonio College, 13-10 in a semifinal game. The team will host El Camino College at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday for third place.

Cerritos vs. Rio Hondo: A fast start by the Falcons elevated them to an early lead and they cruised to the win. After taking a 5-1 lead after the first period, Cerritos outscored the Roadrunners (4-26), 6-0 in the second period to open an 11-1 advantage. In the game, 11 different players scored goals, with freshmen Brian Luque-Gutierrez (Salazar y Herrera, Colombia), Mario Vanzillotta (Colegio Palas, Brazil)and Juan Anguiano (Kennedy HS) each scored three times to lead the offense, with freshman Eduardo Rodriguez (Buena Park HS) posting a season-high six assists. Leading the defensive effort was sophomore Nik Klimpfilger with four steals, with Rodriguez and freshman Joey Hurtado (Cerritos HS) each adding three. Sophomore Zachary Jenkins (La Serna HS) played the first period and posted four saves, with freshman Nate Pineda (La Mirada HS) going the rest of the way and made nine saves.

Cerritos vs. Mt. San Antonio: Needing a win over the Mounties to get another shot at Long Beach City College, the Falcons had a stretch in the third period where they were turned away on eight possessions. By contrast, Mt. SAC (20-4) scored twice to pull ahead 9-6. A man advantage goal by freshman Sebastian Orrego (North Providence, RI HS) in the final five seconds of the third period drew the team to within two goals. An early fourth period goal by freshman John Gomez (La Serna HS) with 6:52 left on the clock made it a 9-8 game. But once again, Mt. SAC found a way to score three straight goals to open up a 12-8 lead that the Falcons could not overcome. Gomez scored three goals and added four steals to lead the team, with Vanzillotta dishing out four assists to help the cause.