The Falcons men’s basketball team appeared ready for the conference to start, having won four games straight heading into their game against Los Angeles Trade Tech on Jan. 15 at Cerritos College. The final score was 78 to 49 giving the Falcons the win.
At halftime, the score was 35 Falcons to 20 Beavers. The Falcons maintained a strong lead headed by sophomore forward, Jacob Washington No. 21 with 8 points and 7 rebounds.
The second-half picked up right where the first left off as the Falcons went on to get the Beavers with another 43 points scored, against the 29 points the Beavers scored.
Jalen Washington, sophomore guard No. 1, was the man of the second-half as he was able to get 12 points in with many key contributions from the team behind him.
Head Coach Russ May, with assistant coach Jorden Littlejohn at his side, stated, “Tonight at this game I thought that Jacob Washington and Daelyn Bams were dominant in [the game] today.”
“They’ve been struggling a little bit, so we were happy to see them get going.”
May continued to say, “It was a team defensive effort, I thought our zone looked fantastic and they had a tough time getting over it.
“So now we move forward against Pasadena.”
Upon being asked about Washington’s influence on teammates, he says, ”Jalen Washington has been great for us. He’s a returner.
“He is our one returner with the most experience and he is definitely one who steadies the game for us,” May adds.
Asking about how Washington’s influence can help the freshmen, he replied, ”I think he is able to remind the freshman that it is a long season, to be patient.
“It pays to have people who can tell you not to panic and to keep it focused on the longer goals.”
“An experienced player like him is appreciated and he is a great reminder of why we need players like him,” Littlejohn agreed.
They were able to extend their winning streak to five games once the final buzzer sounded with the score Falcons 78 to the Beavers 49.
When asked about the team’s streak, May stated, ”We have a good team and we just phase a good team a great team.”
“We came out of the preseason a little bruised [and] a little tattered but we are still in good shape. We hope to keep it moving forward here in the new year.”
Coach Mays finished by saying, “I hope we can come out with the same intensity as tonight” when asked about the Falcons game against Pasadena City College.
Ending by asking what he expects in the season opener at LA Harbor College and the season in general, May stated, “any time when you talk about them being the beginning of leaving you have already been scouted in and seen three or four times by your opponents.”
The Falcon preseason comes to a close on a positive note as they beat Pasadena City College 91 to 85 at the last preseason game. They are ready for the conference opener against Los Angeles Harbor College on Jan. 22.
