Men’s Basketball Battled to the End But Fell in OT to Cerritos, 129-125

TORRANCE, Calif. - The Warriors finished off their season with a 129-125 loss against Cerritos College on Friday night. Though the night did not go as planned, the Warriors made the Falcons work for the victory which went into overtime. Ahmad Ope-Onilenla ended the night with a double double with four more athletes scoring in the double digits.

The first half ended with the Falcons leading by five points and the Warriors returned from the break to challenge the lead. With only 1:30 left in the game, Brandon Harris made a three off an assist by Che Madrid and Ope-Onilenla went on to steal the ball back from the Falcons. After a couple of missed shots, Tarron Wiley put the Warriors within three with his own three pointer. Ope-Onilenla then gained the offensive rebound which found its way to Harris who finished off the play with a three to tie the game at 104.

The Falcons were not easily discouraged and continued to press the Warriors' defense, scoring a layup and a free throw to put them ahead by three points with less than thirty seconds left. Ope-Onilenla took the game into overtime when he successfully converted both his free throws to tie the game right at the end of the second half.

The lead switched between teams as both struggled to gain a steady foothold. In the end, the Falcons took the win by successfully converting their free throws and shot attempts.

Despite the loss, the Warriors did not easily give up. Ope-Onilenla ended the night with 29 points, 21 rebounds, and two blocks. Jamal Heckard was the second highest scoring Warrior, earning 25 points for El Camino. Keywhon Powns scored a total of 19 points for the Warriors, as well as two steals and seven rebounds. Martyre Demarco and Harris each scored 13 points for the Warriors. Demarco, Heckard and Harris led the Warriors on the three point line, each scoring a total of three.

"I was really proud of how hard the guys played and competed the entirety of the game," shared Coach Robert Uphoff.

He continued on the team's performance, "We had some great individual performances tonight, especially from a few of our freshman. Ope-Opilenla was huge in the paint, scoring a season high 29 points and grabbing a season high 21 rebounds."

"I definitely feel we made some vast improvements from our past seasons, but we all have a bittersweet taste in our mouth and feel we underachieved. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and continue to get better next year," finished Coach.

With the loss, the Warriors end their season 11-15 and 2-7 in conference.