Contrary to what most traditional coaches would do, Russ May, men’s basketball head coach, opened the floor to the team to lead the discussion as it went into halftime down on the scoreboard.

“I just wanted them [the tema] to express it themselves so they all could get everybody on the same page,” May said.

“Sometimes one player might think this and the others don’t know it,” he added.

Usually a coach would react negatively as May walked into the locker room and freshman guard Dillon Reise had the marker in hand and was talking to the team standing at the white board.

When May walked in and Reise stopped talking, May encouraged Reise to continue lecturing the team.

“I was just telling them be patient on offense and blockers and movers do your job. [More so] just be patient,” Reise said.

Reise is now ineligible for the season per CCCAA rules.

After Reise was done talking with the team May took over and did something else that is seemingly unconventional.

May asked the squad, “What are we doing wrong? What do we need to keep doing?”

Before May could fully get out the questions freshmen guards Tyler Payne and Brian Nebo offered their solutions.

“Kids have got to be motivated on their own. Our job is to get them prepared, give them the scouting report and put them in a position to win,” May admitted.

“I’m like Phil Jackson, players have got to motivate themselves,” a smiling May said.

Payne ended the first half with a three-pointer and a steal in order to cut the lead down to one at 27-26.

“I’m going to try and stay vocal and we just have to be positive throughout the course of the game no matter what happens,” Payne said.

Payne finished with a team-high 18 points.

Nebo followed up the inspirational finish to the first half by Payne by scoring 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half, including two three-pointers after going zero-for-six the previous game.

“I just came to play. After the loss [Wednesday] I just came out and told Tyler [Payne] to be aggressive from the jump,” Nebo said.

Nebo had 16 points on the night.

During the halftime conference, the Falcons all agreed that the game’s tempo was being controlled by Mounties and missed free throws and turnovers were the difference the first 20 minutes.

“We just have to come out, execute. We have to be focused from the jump, sometimes we tend to have our flaws but when we come collective as a group we’ll always find a way to get it done,” sophomore guard Jonathan Brown said.

Brown led the team in assists with eight.

Many missed free throws were on account of freshman forward Elvis Okafor. However, where Okafor lacked in the free throw department he made up for in virtually every other category.

Even the intangibles.

“We just have to come out every night and execute what the coaches say. Coach May tells us every time ‘the little things matter,’ Okafor said.

May and coaching encourages the style of Okafor and was ecstatic about his stellar play. However, often times assistant coach Tito Ortiz could be heard yelling “Elvis calm down! Why are you in a rush?”

With Mt. San Antonio now being 7-9 on the year, May feels it something doesn’t change soon free throws will be the downfall of this team.

“I think free throw shooting has been more of our issue than anything else and tonight the rhythm of our team was off,” May said.

Cerritos now at (10-8) will have its chance to correct its mistakes Wednesday, Jan. 13 against LA Trade Tech.