ELAC Grinds Out Defensive Battle, Defeats Cerritos

by Cerwin D. Haynes

(photos by Tadzio Garcia)

Led by their 6' 6" wing Kealen Allen, the #7 ranked East Los Angeles Huskies (10-1) were able to tough out a defensive see-saw victory against the Cerritos Falcons (5-6), 57-51. Allen led all scorers with 21 pts, and had perhaps the biggest basket of the night - a monstrous put-back dunk - with 20.1 seconds left in the game to put ELAC up by five.

Before Allen's dunk, center Malik Muhammed blocked a Falcons' layup attempt and ELAC gained possession of the ball up by only three points. After Allen's dunk, Cerritos converted a layup to shrink the Huskies' lead back down to three. But Muhammed would ultimately make the final two free throws that put the game out of reach for the feisty Falcons. 

HUSKY BITS

• Cerritos led most of the first half, going into the locker room up 29-25. ELAC once trailed 27-17 during the half.
• ELAC had a decided size advantage and used it to get buckets inside the paint and to the free-throw line (they made 19 of 29 FTs). The strategy helped them come from behind in the first half, and ultimately take the lead late in the game.

NEXT GAME

The Huskies stay on campus to host the Citrus Owls on Wednesday, December 18th. Tip-off is at 6pm.