A tough stretch of the season continued for the Long Beach City College men's basketball team as the Vikings dropped an 80-68 South Coast Conference game to rival Cerritos College at Cal Poly Pomona's Kellogg Gym on Friday night.

The loss extended LBCC's losing streak to six games and dropped its record to 5-11 overall and 0-2 in the SCC.

Cerritos (9-7, 2-0 SCC) shot 64 percent from the field for the first half to take a commanding  42-28 lead at halftime.

Expanding their lead to 23 points (58-35) with 13:02 left in the second half, Cerritos was able to withstand a Vikings comeback that got the score to within 69-61 with 4:22 left in the second half. But a pair of offensive rebound baskets on their next two possessions by David Hall and Marquise Washington  gave the Falcons a double-digit lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.

Long Beach received  pair of three-pointers from freshman Rueben Strickland during its late rally, while Cole Clark (nine points) and Ashton Edwards (seven points) also made contributions.

Strickland, Edwards, and sophomore Tyler Tuliau (pictured) all scored 17 points to lead the Vikings on the night.

Long Beach will look to snap its losing streak on Wednesday (Jan. 16) when it hosts L.A. Southwest College at 5 p.m.

Photo by John Fajardo