Falcons lose a tough double OT game in the first round of the SoCal Regional Playoffs versus Copper Mountain on Feb. 22 with the score of 94-91.
Both teams started off strong with Cerritos going 50% from two and three-point range while Copper Mountain went 40% from two and 60% from three.
Cerritos kept the lead in their name with a 39-38 lead and looked to make adjustments and build from some of the missed opportunities with fast-break scoring and rebounding.
In the second half, the Falcons looked to keep the rhythm on offense but the Fighting Cacti’s defense became even more of a struggle.
Every time the Falcons would score, Copper Mountain would quickly score from fouls or driving in the lane.
“We felt we can hurt them inside with our big guy and some of our post-up action and we just had to play solid defense,” Head Coach for Copper Mountain college Brad Dean said about the team’s gameplan.
Copper Mountain officially took the lead after Jack Garrison made a layup at the 15th-minute mark, having the Fighting Cacti lead 52-50.
The Falcons would continue to fight throughout the half and Jalen Shores hit a clutch three-pointer with two minutes remaining, keeping the Falcons in the game.
Cameron McCoy made a tough layup and the score was 68-68 with 1:44 left in the game and the game went into a five-minute overtime.
Overtime hits and Copper Mountain started off strong and never gave the lead away until Gorden Boykins hit a layup to allow the Falcons to go up 77-76 with 53 seconds left.
Copper Mountain goes back and draws a foul but Justin Stephens makes a clutch jump shot to give them back the lead with 15 seconds left in the game.
Just like they’ve been doing all game, the Fighting Cacti drove in the lane and got two offensive rebounds during that time and a foul called by Gorden Boykins.
The crowd was making noise, which resulted in Jaylon Lee’s second free-throw missing and the game went into a second overtime.
The Fighting Cacti did not allow Cerritos to gain a lead in the second overtime and went 62% from two-point range and 100% from three-point range.
Cerritos had one chance, with 15 seconds left in the game, the score being 94-91, all the Falcons needed was a three.
Gorden Boykins took the three-point shot and missed with #24 seed Copper Mountain winning the game 94-91, winning a huge upset by taking down the #9 Falcons.
“Give credit to them, they made the plays down the stretch, we were undersized and they took advantage of that,” Head Coach for the Falcons Russ May said, “They got the big rebound or the big play when they need it.”
“I think not having Jonathan Salazar is a huge glaring weakness for us because he was such a dominant force in the paint,” May said, “All the games we lost, that was always a factor.”
“When we rebound like that, they didn’t miss a lot but when they missed, they didn’t get a lot of second attempts so it’s absolutely key,” Coach Dean said.
Jack Garrison IV (No. 20), Point Guard/Shooting Guard, talked about the team’s performance after scoring 23 points for Copper Mountain.
“Coach always tells us to play hard, don’t worry about the turnovers, everyone crash [four crash, one get back] and I take pride in getting rebounds,” Garrison said.
Coach Dean added on what Garrison IV said, “It’s been a tough year, we had coaching changes and had more than normal issues and I think we peaked late so we’re just coming into our best basketball.”
“We’re concentrated on finding our Sophomores a new place to play, our Freshmen did a great job,” May said, “When the season’s over, the Freshmen are 50% better because they know what’s expected.”
“We’re going to be back at it, we’re going to be better next year,” Coach May said.
