The Cerritos men’s basketball team scratched and clawed its way into overtime but could not get past the Huskies as they fell 93-87.

Head coach Russ May said after the game that he was proud of the way his team performed against the third ranked Huskies.

“We’re really tough, I know we are really tough. We really focused and settled down we played extremely hard. The same things bit us in the butt that have giving us problems all year,” May said.

The statistic he was eluding to was free throws.

After the loss sophomore forward Kyle Geer told the team that he would shoulder the loss after he could not make his free throws.

“I feel like I let my team down. Big time actually,” Geer said.

Geer shot 3-10 from the free throw line.

Once the statement was made in the locker room all of Geer’s teammates glared at him and reiterated that basketball is a team sport.

“Honestly, I told him in the locker room it’s not his fault it’s a team game. It’s not about just him hitting free throws we all should’ve [made] free throws,” Nebo said.

The team shot 18-34 from the free throw line.

It is very possible that without the play of Geer the team would not have even been able to get the game into overtime.

Geer finished with 15 points shooting 6-7 from the field.

Aside from the play of Geer, freshman guard Luis Medearis opened the game with a bang.

He was involved on the first three baskets of the game including a layup, a three-pointer and a short dish off to sophomore forward Jamal Watson for a dunk before being removed from the game.

Upon returning to the bench Medearis looked at his teammates and told them “I told y’all I was not playing!”

“My mindset was to win. They are a ranked team (No. 3) and we just got ranked (No. 14), so I was just trying to get the dub,” Medearis said.

Despite the great play from the outset May explained his decision.

“[Medearis] has been good for quite a few games now. We had to keep fresh legs and he did a great job. Made all the plays he needed to play,” May said.

Medearis possessed a never say die attitude towards the end of the game even when he was passed up on a potential game ending play as time ticked away during the second half.

“It’s just how my mom raised me to grow up with limited items and you have to do what you have to do [to survive]. Plus, I’m competitive,” Medearis expressed.

He finished the night with 25 points on 8-11 shooting and five three-pointers. After shooting a combined 7-29 the previous two contests.

Following the postgame speech from May, he let the team know, “The most important game is the next one.”

Technically he is right as conference play starts Friday, Jan. 22 against LA Harbor College at 7 p.m.