Tezarray Banks scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead visiting Cerritos to a 91-84 victory versus L.A. Southwest on Friday.

The Falcons improve to 21-11, and 9-1 in conference, and with the win they clinched the South Division title.

Michael Ford scored 22 points for L.A. Southwest 19-12, and 7-3 in conference play.

Freshman center Tezarray Banks scored a season-high 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to help lead the Cerritos College men’s basketball team to a 91-84 win over Los Angeles Southwest in their South Coast Conference South Division finale.

The Cerritos College men’s basketball team lost its opening game in South Coast Conference South Division play on Jan.17. Since then, however, the Falcons have rocketed through the conference with nine consecutive victories and are ranked 20th in the state and 10th in Southern California.

With the win over the LA Southwest, the Falcons secured sole possession of first place, while the Cougars came in second.

Earlier in the week, the Falcons posted a 96-78 win over the El Camino warriors that assured that the Cerritos vs. LA Southwest match up on Friday would be for the conference title.

This week, the Falcons with a record of 21-11, 9-1, and winners of nine straight, will open the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against San Diego Mesa. The Falcons were seeded #11 and will host the #22 Olympians, who finished the regular season 17-13.

The winner of that contest will face the winner of the game between #6 Oxnard 26-6 and #27 College of the Canyons 10-19 next Wednesday.

The Falcons will have a lot to live up to having won the division title and advanced to the State Championships last season.

The Falcons have won five state championships in their history, with the most recent coming in 1999.

The game against the Cougars was up-tempo from the outset and the Falcons were more than capable of keeping pace with the fast-paced LA Southwest team.

Cerritos responded by shooting 55% from the field and out-rebounded the Cougars, 39-35.

Banks, who played the majority of the second half on a sore knee, made 9-of-11 shots, with most of them coming from the inside.

The Falcons passed the ball with exceptional accuracy, and finished the night with a collective 22 assists, as eight of the nine players that saw action recorded at least one assist.

For the first time all season all five of the Cerritos starters scored in double-figures.

Guard Tony Roberts added 16 points, two rebounds and two assists. G Cheo White chipped in with 11 points and seven assists, while the duo of G Matt Reid and F Malcohm Heron each added 10 points.

Heron also pulled down seven rebounds, while Reid finished with four rebounds and four assists.

Coming off the bench, freshman G Terrell Hendricks added 11 points, while G Marcel Justin and F Harold Fairweather finished with five and four points, respectively.

Roberts, White, Hendricks and Fairweather all played the final few minutes of the game in foul trouble with four fouls each, but they were still able to maintain the aggressive defensive pressure that had been key in wining the game.

In the 96-78 win over El Camino, Reid led the team with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Roberts added 19 points and four boards.

In addition, Heron had 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals while Banks scored13 points, 10 rebounds in a night were the offense did not run through him.

In this game the Falcons showed an ability to win with out their star center, something that could be a real possibility in the Playoffs due to his sore knee.

Fairweather scored 10 points and brought down eight rebounds. Cerritos played well knowing that they had to win to continue on their quest for the conference title.