After a rough month, the Cerritos College men’s basketball team came away with a victory at Los Angeles Southwest College in its first South Coast Conference game on Friday, 68-64, to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Forward Marcellus Jackson led the way with a team high, 18 points and 20 rebounds.

The Falcons led by as much as 11 but the Cougars were not going down without a fight.

The Falcons saw their lead drop to one, 60-59, with more than two minutes remaining.

Clutch free throws late in the game secured the Falcons the win.

Prior to Friday’s victory, problems continued for the Falcons as it dropped its seventh in a row to rival Mt. San Antonio, 74-67, last Wednesday at the Aviary in Cerritos College.

Falcons guard Gregory Peer’s team high 18 points and 10 rebounds were shadowed by Mounties guard Aarron Chamberlin’s 26 points, 20 of which came in the second half.

The Falcons got off to a quick start leading 13-7 in the first half and kept it close going into halftime only trailing 33-29.

“The team started off strong with (its) adrenaline pumping at the beginning of each quarter,” said head coach Jesse Teplitzy.

With a little more than seven minutes left in the game, the Falcons took a 58-53 lead.

The small lead soon vanished as the Mounties went on a 13-0 run, led by Chamberlin, scoring nine of the 13 in a span of five minutes.

The Mounties’ aggressive play in the paint sent them to the free throw line, converting 17 of the 26 attempts.

The Falcons will look to have back-to-back wins as they host El Camino Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.