For more than 36 minutes, Cerritos College controlled its contest v. the host Pasadena City College men's basketball team and it appeared it was over as the Lancers trailed by 15 with 3:29 left on the clock.
But Pasadena (10-7 record) made a thrilling rally, scoring an amazing 23 points in the final minutes capped by a Darrius Freeman 3-pointer from the corner that cut it to 78-76 with just six seconds remaining.
Alas, the comeback fell a little short as the Falcons hung on to beat PCC, 80-76, in a South Coast Conference crossover on Friday night.
Freeman scored PCC's final eight points, all in the last minute and finished with a team-high 19 points. State assists leader Jalen Vazquez collected his fourth points-assists double-double with 13 points and 10 helpers plus four steals. Vazquez is averaging 8.5 assists per game.
Dylan Swillis added 16 points and nine rebounds while LaQwon Cole was strong off the bench on 11 points (6-for-6 from the free throw line) and four steals.
Cerritos (11-7) was led by 6-foot-9 post player Spencer Ezewiro, who had a dominating performance, making 11 of his 12 shots, finishing two baskets-and-one for a game-high 24 points.
"We finally turned on the switch the last few minutes, but we just dug ourselves too big a hole," said PCC head coach Ryan Frazer. "Cerritos is an athletic team and played good defense, but we're pretty athletic ourselves. When we want to, we can make things happen in a hurry. The comeback was the only encouraging part of our game tonight."
On Wednesday in a SCC crossover at LA Harbor, the Lancers outdistanced the Seahawks, 83-55, behind a 20-point, eight-rebound effort by Quinlan Daly, who came off the bench and sank four treys and added three steals in just 21 minutes of play.
A Daly layup gave PCC a 38-18 lead on its way to controlling the first half, 42-25. The Lancers were never threatened in the final 20 minutes.
Swillis scored 16 points, grabbed eight boards, and dished out four assists, Freeman added 10 points, and Cole nine points and six assists.
Next up for Pasadena is the opening of the 8-game, SCC North Division schedule at LA Trade-Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 22.