Ctr Jarion Henry had 20 pts, 12 rebs and 6 asts as #13 Cerritos rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit and pulled away late for a South Coast Conference victory over visiting LA Trade Tech Friday night in Norwalk.
The 6-10 guard-turned-center, who signed with the Oklahoma Sooners out of high school, posted game-high totals in points and assists, helping Cerritos (12-8, 5-1) maintain a share of first place in the SCC-South with Long Beach, a 100-90 winner over Compton just a few miles away on Friday.
For just over a half, it looked like LA Trade Tech (10-11, 2-4), which lost in overtime last Friday at Pasadena and again this past Wednesday at home against Long Beach, was ready to end its frustration and pull the mild upset. But Cerritos used a 16-4 run to rally midway through the second half, and a 13-2 run to pull away late for the win.
A week ago, Trade Tech fell into a 19-point hole in the first half before rallying to force overtime. This time around, Cerritos took an early 6-2 lead, but LATT coach Richard Wells called a quick timeout to stop the negative momentum. Cerritos still held a 12-8 lead a few moments later, but that was as far as Trade Tech would fall behind in the first half.
And then Trade Tech went on a 14-2 run, taking a 22-14 lead after SF Lorgan Foster made a 3-point basket and then scored off a pass from PG Donja Brooks. A basket by PF Andre Harris off a pass from PG Darnell Christopher made it 26-17 with 8:55 left in the first half.
Cerritos scored the next four points to cut the deficit to 26-21, but then Trade Tech extended its lead into double digits. Another basket by Foster made it 37-27 with just over 5 minutes left in the half. Then Brooks scored on a putback and SG Everett Osborne made one of two free throws to make it 40-27. Osborne's short jumper pushed the LATT advantage to 14 points at 42-28, and Trade Tech still held a double-digit lead at 44-33 at halftime.
Cerritos still faced a double-digit deficit at 58-47 about a third into the second half, but then came the first of the two Falcon runs that turned the game around. SG Kevin Conrad threw down a slam dunk to get the run going, cutting the deficit to six points at 60-54. A steal & lay-up by SG Jordan Reise made it 62-58. Henry made two free throws with 10:54 left to make it 62-60, and was fouled again with 10:22 left and went to the line again as Cerritos was already in the double-bonus. He made the first to make it 62-61. He missed the second free throw, but Reise got the rebound, was fouled and made the two resulting free throws to give the Falcons a 63-62 lead.
The lead went back and forth for the next several minutes. Trade Tech took a 74-72 lead on a 3-pointer by SF Aaron Fitts with 4:35 left. Cerritos tied it moments later on a lay-up by Henry. Then LATT Ctr Kyle Reid fouled out on a charging foul with 3:36 remaining. And as he went to the bench, Trade Tech saw yet another game slip away.
Henry gave Cerritos a lead with two more free throws with 3:09 left, and the Falcons never surrendered that lead. A 3-pointer by SG Micah Winn made it 79-74. Trade Tech got two free throws from Brooks to make it 79-76, but then PF T.J. Traylor took a pass from SG Victor Jones and threw down a dunk to make it 81-76. Henry scored off a pass from PG Autin Pope to make it 83-76, and then made it 85-76 with a dunk, all but clinching the win for the Falcons.
Trade Tech took advantage of some missed Cerritos free throws to make a late run, but never really threatened to pull even. Harris made a 3-pointer from the top of the key with a little more than a second to go, but Trade Tech was out of timeouts. Cerritos inbounded the ball and time ran out, moving Cerritos to 5-1 in SCC play.
Henry was just one of five Falcons to score in double digits. Winn had 14 pts, including 3 threes, plus 3 asts. Pope had a very strong overall game with 10 pts, 8 rebs, a game-high 8 asts and 4 blocked shots. Jones also had 10 pts, plus 6 rebs, and Reise came off the bench for 10 pts, plus 7 rebs.
For Trade Tech, Harris had a huge game with a game-high 29 pts, and he also grabbed 7 rebs. Osborne had 13 pts and a team-high 9 boards, and Foster came off the bench for 13 pts. Fitts had 12 pts and 7 rebs, and Reid had 10 pts despite the foul trouble.
box score
Friday, January 24, 2014 - 5 pm
at Cerritos College, Norwalk
South Coast Conference
LA Trade Tech Beavers 85:
1-Everett Osborne, SG - 5/10 fg, 3/5 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 pf, 13 pts
4-Aaron Fitts, SF - 5/11 fg, 0/1 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
10-Kyle Reid, C - 3/5 fg, 4/8 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 10 pts
13-Donja Brooks, PG - 3/8 fg, 4 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
25-Andre Harris, PF - 12/19 fg, 4/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 29 pts
21-Lorgan Foster, F - 6/12 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
5-Darnell Christopher, G - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
24-Vinay Parmar, G - 1 ast, 0 pts
20-Jordan Watson, C - 0 pts
31-Ellis Bivens, C - 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 0 pts
42-Darnell Childs, F - 1/1 fg, 3 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 35/68 fg (.515), 11/18 ft (.611), 40 reb, 22 ast, 4 blk, 8 stl, 28 pf, 85 pts
3-pt fg (4): Fitts 2, Harris, Foster
Fouled Out: Reid 3:36 left
Turnovers (16): Brooks 4, Osborne 3, Harris 2, Foster 2, Christopher 2, Bivens 2, Reid
Cerritos Falcons 88:
1-Austin Pope, PG - 3/10 fg, 3/4 ft, 8 reb, 8 ast, 4 blk, 2 pf, 10 pts
3-Victor Jones, SF - 4/11 fg, 1/1 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
11-T.J. Traylor, PF - 4/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
15-Jarion Henry, C - 6/13 fg, 8/14 ft, 12 reb, 6 ast, 3 pf, 20 pts
21-Micah Winn, SG - 5/14 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 14 pts
13-Josh Bell, F - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 7 pts
2-Jordan Reise, G - 3/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 10 pts
55-Iyke Akajiobi, C - 1 pf, 0 pts
4-Kevin Conrad, G - 2/5 fg, 4/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
14-Jon Benson, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 30/76 fg (.395), 21/33 ft (.636), 49 reb, 22 ast, 5 blk, 6 stl, 20 pf, 88 pts
3-pt fg (7): Winn 3, Reise 2, Pope, Jones
Turnovers (11): Pope 3, Jones 3, Henry 2, Traylor, Winn, Akajiobi
Halftime Score: LA Trade Tech 44, Cerritos 33
Updated Records: Cerritos (#13-South) 12-8, 5-1 in SCC; LA Trade Tech 10-11, 2-4 in SCC
Trade Tech led by 14 at 42-28 with just under 2 minutes left in the 1st half.
Cerritos used a 16-4 run to take a 63-62 lead with 10:20 left.
Cerritos used a 13-2 lead to lead 85-76 with just under a minute left.
Harris' 3-pointer with just over a second left closed out the scoring for LATT.
