The Cerritos College men’s basketball team beat Compton College 86-83 in a dogfight with Cerritos three-pointers and rebounds getting them a win in their first conference game on Jan. 22.
It was a close game throughout especially as the first half ended in a tie, 39-39.
The difference maker that half was the 3-point shots Cerritos hit as they shot nearly 60% from three.
It seemed as if the Falcons could not miss from beyond the arch with their high shot percentage from the 3-point line with Cerritos forward, Andrew Mata being a big factor as he shot 5/5 from three.
“It’s really my role on the team, just to come in and knock down shots,” Mata said.
The rebounding in the game was also a key factor to the Falcons victory as they had 40 total rebounds compared to Compton’s 28 rebounds.
Falcons center, Spencer Ezewiro, led the team with 12 rebounds and seemed to have a positive mindset after he was frustrated only shooting 2-8 from the field.
“You gotta get every rebound, you gotta secure every board against a team like that… if I’m not making my layups the one thing I can do is give my effort and get rebounds,” Ezewiro said.
One thing that has been apparent throughout the game and even after is it seems like all of these players know what their job is on the court.
That was evident when Cerritos College head coach, Russ May, had plenty to say about the team, “The guards have to come in and rebound and they did tonight.”
May also gave praise to his team’s captain Darron Henry, “He puts in a ton of work, knows how to play basketball and he is such a competitor we ask a whole lot he’s gotta play almost the whole game sometimes… Tonight he came through.”
Henry ended the game with 26 points 6 assists and 5 steals.
Compton were tough competitors who also had players who shined just like Paul Gross who had 15 points in just 16 minutes of playing as well as shooting 8-9 from the free throw line.
Jordan English was also a notable player this game who had 15 points 4 rebounds and 3 assists
Gross and English seemed like a dynamic duo, especially down the stretch- it was clear that Compton College did not back down in this game.
May added to this as he gave high praise to Compton and more specifically their defense.
“They are very good defensively and they wanted to get up and cause problems,” May stated.
Although the Falcons won the game in a nail-biting finish, not everything went as planned as May commented on the team’s turnovers.
“At the end, we made some careless turnovers so we’re gonna have to get better at that,” May finished.
The Falcons are now on a three-game winning streak and are scheduled to play on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. against Los Angeles Harbor College.