For the second time this season, the Cerritos College men's basketball team ran off a six-game winning streak, only to see if come short of making it seven in a row. At the Clete Adelman Classic at MiraCosta College, the Falcons (11-3) opened with a 67-59 win over the host Spartans on Sunday, but then dropped a 58-57 score to San Diego Miramar College on Monday. Next up for Cerritos will be a 5:00 p.m. non-conference game at Los Angeles Trade-Tech College next Monday.

Cerritos vs. MiraCosta: It was a tight first half, as the teams traded the lead back and forth, with the Falcons holding the largest lead at 31-26 with 1:08 left before intermission. Leading 48-47 after a Dorian Tate (St. Paul HS/Rio Hondo College) layup with 9:35 remaining, Cerritos extended their lead after a Tate three-point play and a bucket by Isaac Sowell (Dominguez HS/Cal Poly Humboldt) to 53-47 with 7:58 left. Tate then scored five consecutive points for a 58-50 lead before the Spartans made their final run and got as close as 61-59 with 2:16 on the clock. Once again, it was Tate who took over the game by scoring on a layup, pulled down a rebound after a missed MiraCosta shot and then finished the play with another bucket with 1:00 remaining and the Falcons leading, 65-59. Sophomore Kamaury Washington (Long Beach Millikan HS/Santa Ana College) closed out the scoring by converting a pair of free throws.

Tate led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting, while he also pulled down seven rebounds in a winning cause. Sophomore David Mack (St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy HS/Northern Illinois University) contributed 11 points and three rebounds, with Washington ending up with 10 points and seven boards. As a team, the Falcons out-rebounded the Spartans, 48-25, with 19 of those boards on the offensive end.

Cerritos vs. San Diego Miramar: Entering the day as the #3-ranked team in the state, the Falcons came up short in their game against the Jets (6-8). Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, with the offensive pace picked up in the second half. Cerritos held a 22-19 lead at halftime after opening the game on a seven-point run. Washington knocked down a three-pointer and followed that with a three-point play to open a 35-29 lead for the Falcons. The Jets responded by going on an 11-0 run before sophomore Jaysen Owens (Narbonne HS) ended that streak with a layup. Consecutive three-pointers from Mack kept the Falcons close and trailed just 45-43 with 7:57 left on the clock. After a cold spell, freshman DJ Holt hit a three-pointer with 3:01 remaining to get to within 51-50. The team then failed to score on their next three possessions, with SD Miramar taking a 56-50 advantage with 1:01 remaining. Washington then connected on a pair of free throws, and after a Jets turnover, freshman Elijah Gelin (Winward HS) was fouled and he also netted both of his free throws to make it a 56-54 game with 27 seconds left. With one last chance to send the game into overtime, Holt missed one of two free throws with one second remaining and the Falcons lost by a point.

Washington led the team with 16 points and added five rebounds, while Tate posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for Cerritos. Hold finished with seven points off the bench, while the tandem of Mack and Sowell (seven rebounds) each scored six points.