Somehow, Anthony Brown’s tying three-point attempt which hit the side of the rim in the game’s final seconds seemed to resonate in a trying season for the men’s basketball team.
The Warriors lost 68-64, Feb.20 to the Cerritos College Falcons in the season finale after coming back from as many as 15 points, before a first half that lacked luster.
The Falcons sealed the deal making their free throws in the waning seconds, something the Warriors didn’t do, improving their record to 4-8.
“We were there, but we couldn’t pull it out,” sophomore guard Cameron Phillips said.
“We missed some free throws down the stretch and we had defensive lapses, but we played hard and I’m proud,” he said.
Following a season in which EC could only assemble two wins in 21 overall contests, and one in eight in the South Coast Conference South Division, it turns once again to the offseason in hopes to improve upon the established foundation of a core group of freshmen.
The team, mainly comprised of first-year college players, only brought two sophomores to games most evenings.
Fronting a three-guard lineup and no true center, it had to battle through the aches and pains of a team learning to play through its shortcomings, while going from the watch of its primary coach Paul Landreaux who left the team for health reasons to the duties assumed by assistant coach Michael Fenison.
The Falcons, led by freshman center Tezarray Banks’ 10-first half points, jumped out on a 16-3 run before the Warriors settled down after making only one field goal in the first eight minutes of the game.
“They just weren’t playing,” Fenison said. “They just needed to come out and play and have confidence in themselves.”
Down by 11 at halftime, the much- more-game Warriors returned in the second half, using a 20-11 run to cut the lead down to as few as two, before eventually tying the game at 49 with nine-and-a-half remaining.
Phillips’ three-point basket with eight minutes left gave them their first lead, all while exploiting Cerritos’ six-and-a-half minute scoring drought.
Brown’s 11-second half points (finished with 20) and tenacious off-ball play helped his teammates play with the fervor they lacked for much of the game.
“Coach let us know that it was still close and the second half is our half so just come out and play our game. We had to go out and execute: grabbing offensive boards and play defence stepping it up a notch,” Brown said.
