The MSJC men's basketball team picked up a key Inland Empire Athletic Conference win on Monday night as they out lasted visiting Cerro Coso 69-66.

In a very physical and hotly contested first half, Danilo Da Silva hit a three point shot at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 32-31 lead at the break.  In the second MSJC jumped out of the gates quickly as they scored the first 8 points to push their lead to 40-31.  Cerro Coso however would not go away as they clawed their way back into the game.  The Coyotes took the lead 44-43 with 11:44 to play in the game and it was a back and forth battle the rest of the way.  Coso reclaimed the lead with 28 seconds remaining at 66-65, but Anton Mozga went to the free throw line with 17 seconds left and made both attempts to give the Eagles a one point lead.  The Coyotes then had a last chance for the victory, but Ethan Bell came up with a huge steal and passed it ahead to Mozga for a dunk at the buzzer to make the final 69-66 and give MSJC the victory.

Mekhi Hill had a very efficient game as he tied for game high scoring honors with 15 points on timely and accurate shooting as he went 5 for 8 from the field and 2 for 3 from the three point line.  Mozga finished with a double double as he also scored 15 points and grabbed a game high 14 rebounds.  The well balanced offense for the Eagles also saw Da Silva add 14 points while Isaiah Skinner added 12.  Josh Hardiman had a big hand in the victory as well off the bench as he scored 6 points and pulled in 8 rebounds.  Bell finished the night with a game high 7 assists, Da Silva and Cameron Durr both passed out 4 assists a piece in the win.

The victory improves the Eagles to 7-7 on the season and 2-1 in IEAC play while Cerro Coso fell to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.  MSJC returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Blythe to take on Palo Verde in a 7 pm game.