Cerritos College men’s basketball team had a 29-point blowout win against Los Angeles Southwest College, leading to a bit of animosity on the floor between players from opposing teams.
The final score of the game was 97-68.
Double technical fouls were addressed to G/F, No. 1 Demetrius Thomas and G Deric Daniels after an emphatic And-1 dunk by Thomas on the fast break.
One of the opposing players didn’t allow Thomas to come down cleanly off the rim leaving him to partially land on top of G Michael Lara and that’s when G Deric Daniels stepped in and had a few words for Thomas.
Referees eventually broke the two apart but Thomas and Daniels proceeded to talk back and forth with each other, which eventually lead to them both receiving technical fouls.
When asked about the incident Thomas says he was only trying to get off the rim safely but his opponent wouldn’t let him.
“It wasn’t too crazy,” Thomas said, describing the incident.
Thomas finished the game with 21 points and 6 rebounds, he is coming off two back-to-back 20 plus point games.
No. 1 Thomas ripped out of the sky by an LA Southwest player. A flagrant 1 foul was called on the play. Two shots and the ball back to Cerritos.
— Talon Marks SPORTS (@talonmarksports) January 25, 2018
Thomas spoke about how he intends to keep his momentum going through the next few games, he said, “Just staying aggressive on the offensive [end], defensive end and hoping to create turnovers.”
The Falcons started the game quick by pushing the pace and jumped out to a 22-11 lead in the first six minutes of the game.
“We’ve been saying all year that we are not losing at home, that’s our motivation, coming out strong at home,” says Sophomore, No. 20 Jason Carter
The team definitely played to that statement in this win, as they quickly got off to a big lead and never looked back.
No. 14 Keshaun Mack gave an early spark to the Falcons, scoring the first six points of the game.
“I just try to bring the energy for us every game,” Mack said.
Mack continued to provide offensively for the rest of the night, finishing with 16 points on 7-11 shooting from the field. While adding in plenty of highlights.
Falcons shot 54.5% (18-33) from the field, while shooting 3-7 from three-point distance and were 11-11 from the free throw line, in the first half.
Contributing to the Falcons shooting a high percentage was the team getting out on the fast-break for easy dunks and layups. This was largely caused by Cerritos forcing 10 turnovers.
“We just try and take each opponent and dissect them one at a time,” said head coach Russ May.
Defensively, the Falcons limited the LA Southwest Cougars to only 38.7% (12-31) from the field and 5-12 from three, for the opening half.
The Falcons came three points shy of hitting the century mark for the second time in three games. They went into halftime with a 50-32 advantage.
Entering the second half, Falcons were able to keep the pressure on by forcing 10 more turnovers.
May said, “We jumped on them early.”
Those additional turnovers enabled Cerritos, as they began throwing lobs, passing for key baseline dimes leading to easy points, as they attacked from wherever they chose.
Cerritos College finished the game shooting a clean 50% (34-68) on FG attempts and going 6-17 on three-point shots, as they extend their winning streak, with their fourth consecutive win.
Five Falcons finished the game in double figures: No. 12 Christian Alvis 15 points, three assists and two rebounds, No. 14 Keshaun Mack 16 points, one assist and five rebounds, No. 20 Jason Carter 13 points, one assist and five rebounds, No. 21 Johnathon Guzman 10 points, four assists and seven rebounds, No. 1 Demetrius Thomas who tied game-high 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Falcons are now 18-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play, as they look to keep their streak alive in their next game at Los Angeles Harbor College on Jan. 26.
Check out live tweets of the game here: https://twitter.com/talonmarksports/status/956361784553717761
