For the first time since 2022, the Cerritos College men's basketball team captured the championship of the Irvine Valley Tournament. The Falcons (2-1) opened with a 71-63 win over the host Lasers and then followed with a 69-62 victory over #12-ranked Ventura College. On Wednesday, the team will travel to Los Angeles City College for a 2:00 p.m. game.

Cerritos vs. Irvine Valley: Trailing 6-0 at the outset of the game, the Falcons responded by scoring 13 straight points to take a 13-6 lead. During the stretch, six different players scored for Cerritos, with freshman Elijah Gelin (Winward HS) knocking down a three-pointer. Freshman Daryl Holt (St. John Bosco HS) hit a trey of his own to give Cerritos a 16-10 lead, while a Gelin dunk gave the team their biggest lead of the game (24-15) with 5:35 left in the first half. Irvine Valley was able to take a 46-42 lead with 9:16 left on the clock, but when sophomore David Mack (St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy HS/Northern Illinois University) drained a three-pointer, that Falcons were back on top, 47-46. Freshman Dorian Tate (St. Paul HS/Rio Hondo College) converted a three-pointer with 3:08 left to make it a 61-55 Falcons lead, while another Gelin three-pointer followed for a comfortable 64-55 advantage.

Gelin led the Falcons with 18 points off the bench, as he converted 7-of-9 field goals, while Mack ended with 15 points and four rebounds. Holt also provided offense off the bench with his 11 points, which included a pair of three-pointers, while Tate finished with nine points. Freshman Isaac Sowell (Dominguez HS) pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds to go with his five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win.

Cerritos vs. Ventura: In the championship game, the teams traded the lead through most of the first half until the Pirates went on a 6-0 run for a 33-27 lead at intermission. Trailing by eight points (37-29) early in the second half, the Falcons went on an 11-0 run over the next 5:19 to lead, 40-37. Mack scored the first four points during that run, with sophomore Blake Brewer (Orange Lutheran HS) hitting a three-pointer to put the team in front. The game went back to trading leads until sophomore Jaysen Owens (Narbonne HS) and Holt hit consecutive three-pointers, while Holt followed with another jumper to give Cerritos a 53-46 lead with 8:27 remaining. Each time Ventura worked their way back to within one possession, the Falcons had an answer. First, it was a Mack three-pointer, and then he also added a pair of free throws to keep the team in front. In the final few minutes, the Falcons netted 5-of-6 free throws to secure the win.

Tate and freshman Kamaury Washington (Long Beach Millikan HS/Santa Ana College) each scored 16 points, with Tate also pulling down 10 rebounds in the victory. Mack added 11 points, which included going 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while Brewer and Sowell each added six points.