Freshman guard Terrell Hendricks helped propell the Cerritos College men’s basketball team to an impressive comeback against the Oxnard Condors in the Second Round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs. But the Condors proved to have enough to win and took a close one 72-70.
Down by as many as 14 points in the second half, Hendricks complimented his tenacious defense with some timely shooting, as he finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
He had a chance to tie the game with a running baseline jumper, but the ball rolled around the rim before falling out as time expired, as the 11-seeded Falcons dropped a a close one to the 6-seeded Condors.
The loss ended the team’s dream to return to the State Champions and saw them finish the year with 22 wins and 12 losses.
The Falcons trailed the majority of the game and in particular int he first half. One of the main reasons for the slump was their 29% field goal percentage in the first half. The Falcons looked lethargic on defense and trailed 40-26.
“Our defense in the first half was the main reason for the deficit” Men’s Basketball Coach Gary Cain said about one of the reasons why the falcons trailed at the half another reason he said was the deficit of experience in the young Falcon squad.
Despite the lack of experience the team came back in the second half with a renewed energy and took control of the tempo of the game and slowly worked their way back into the contest with better defense. Just like it was responsible for the first half our defence was the reason we came back in the game said Cain about the second half surge.
On the night, the Falcons controlled the boards, as they pulled down 39 to just 27 for the Condors.
Freshman center Tezarray Banks connected on a short turn-around jumper with 4:57 left in the game to give the Falcons their first lead of the game at 59-58.
Oxnard came right back however, and connected on a three-pointer to regain the lead.
Freshman guard Cheo White missed a three-pointer on the team’s next possession. From there. Guard Paul Guerrero who had 13 points drained a three pointer as the Condors wasted little time coming back down court and scoring.
The quick strike three pointer gave Oxnard a five-point lead with less than 3 minutes to go in the game..
Cerritos was unable to regain the lead the rest of the game. But the Falcons did have their chance to send the game into overtime, but it was not meant to be as Hendricks’ last minute shot would not go in.
Sophomore guard Tony Roberts also helped spark the comeback, as he scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, while Banks finished with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Marcel Justin played a solid all-around game, as he finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while sophomore forward Malcohm Heron added seven points.
On the night, the Falcons controlled the boards, as they pulled down 39 to just 27 for the Condors.
