For the third season in a row, and 27th time in their history, the Cerritos College men's basketball team has won at least a share of a conference championship. The Falcons (19-8, 8-1) clinched a share of the South Coast Conference South Division title with a 78-61 home win over Compton College on Wednesday. They close out the regular season on Friday when they travel to Los Angeles Southwest College (16-10, 7-2), who needs to beat the Falcons in order to share the title.

In the win over the Tartars (12-15, 4-5), who defeated Cerritos in their first meeting, it was the first half performance from freshman guard Joshua Belvin (St. Anthony HS) that helped the team open a 43-26 halftime advantage. Slicing through the Compton defense, Belvin scored 14 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes, which included a stretch of eight of the team's 10 points over a 2:15 span. That run turned a 23-19 deficit into a 33-26 lead. The Falcons closed out the first half by outscoring Compton, 24-3.

Along with the points scored in bunches, freshman Jaishon Forte (Rancho Verde HS) was wiping the boards clean, as he pulled down a season-high 23 rebounds to go along with his 15 points, with 11 of them coming in the second half. Forte (pictured, left) got the team's fast break going in the second half, and also helped convert their 16 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

The pace of the game was frenetic from the outset, as both teams were getting up shots as soon as they reached the other side of the court. The two teams combined for 32 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Although the Falcons did not shoot well from long distance, they scored when needed and then came back on defense to put the Tartars in tough shooting situations.

Belvin's 16 points led the balanced offensive attack that also included 15 points from Forte, while freshman Dorian Harris (Cerritos HS) added 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Jalen Washington (Bishop Montgomery HS) converted all seven of his free throws, which helped him post 11 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Jacob Washington (Washington Prep HS/Los Angeles Harbor College) accounted for 10 points and eifht caroms.

Photos by Daryl Peterson