It was a collective effort for the Cerritos College men's basketball team, as they rolled to an 86-56 South Coast Conference South Division win over visiting El Camino College on Friday night. The Falcons (11-6, 3-0), who have now won five in a row, remain in first place in the division. The team will host Compton College (7-10, 2-2) at 5:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

Cerritos went on a 12-4 first half run to open a 10-point lead (25-15), with sophomore Juice Belvin (St. Anthony HS) providing the final five points of the the streak. After sophomore Dorian Harris (Cerritos HS) converted all three free throws after getting fouled, the Falcons had a 34-22 advantage, while the team shut out the Warriors for the final 4:13 of the first half. They took a 42-24 lead into intermission and continued to improve on that in the second half.

Freshman Jackson Barnhill (Long Beach Wilson HS) got the second half going with his first of two three-pointers, which improved the lead to 20 points (49-29), while sophomore Jaishon Forte (Rancho Verde HS) converted a three-point play with 16:00 left in the second half to maintain the 20-point lead. Cerritos then went 5:31 before scoring again, but since El Camino only scored four points during that time, the lead was never threatened. Freshman Gorden Boykins (St. Anthony HS) dropped a three-pointer to end the drought and then added a layup, while Harris followed with a pair of successful free throws for a 61-40 lead.

At the final whistle, Barnhill had a team-high 17 points and was one of three players with a team-high six rebounds. Harris, who connected on all seven of his free throws, added 15 points and six rebounds, with Belvin posting 11 points and six rebounds before exiting the game with a minor injury. Sophomore Andre Fields (Warren HS) made all five of his field goals and finished with 12 points, to go along with three rebounds and three steals, with Boykins and freshman Garrett Bell (Sonora HS) both adding seven points.

Photos by Daryl Peterson