Huskies Use Big First Half to Knockoff #1-Ranked Cerritos

by Cerwin D Haynes

East LA Men's Baketball head coach John Mosley knows that banking non-conference wins against tough opponents is a must, particularly with the Huskies expected to once again dominate SCC-North play once mid-January comes.

He couldn't ask for a bigger win than knocking off a #1-ranked team in the Cerritos College Falcons. The Huskies (5-2) knocked off the #1 Falcons (7-2) at the Riverside City Tournament, 82-67.

ELAC built a 16-point halftime lead that grew to as much as 23 points in the early second half. Cerritos would put together 10-0 run to draw within 12 with 6:08 left, but would get no closer. A Corey Coffield layup with 5:46 to go stopped the bleeding. and the Falcons never threatened.

Sophomore G Noel Scott led all scorers with 21 points on 8-15 shooting, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Fellow soph and F JT Langston scored 20 on 7-11 shooting along with 10 rebounds (five offensive), three steals and two blocks.

The Huskies built their 16-point first half lead by hitting the offensive boards and forcing turnovers. The extra possessions gave the Green 10 more FG attempts (34-24) and nine more FT attempts (18-9) than their opponents. Huskies shot 50% from the field and went 10-18 from the charity stripe (Falcons were only 4-9 from the line). East LA continued with this successful formula well into the second half, taking leads of 59-36 and 69-47 before Cerritos made their late run.

HUSKY BITS

• Soph F Corey Cofield, last year's conference Player of the Year, had 11 points and six boards.
• Soph G/F swingman Tyrelle Hunt had 11 points, five rebound and three blocks.

UP NEXT

Taking a break Friday, the Huskies will head back east to Riverside on Saturday to face the host school Tigers in Day Three of the Riverside City Tournament.