Men's Basketball: Vikings wrap up conference title with 68-67 win over Cerritos

Sophomore Elijah Gaines (San Pedro HS) posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore Brandon Staton (Poly HS) had a team-high 18 points to help lead the Long Beach City College men's basketball team to a 68-67 win over visiting Cerritos College on Wednesday.

The victory wrapped up the Vikings' second consecutive South Coast Conference South Division championship. Long Beach is 20-6 overall and 6-1 in SCC South play heading into its regular-season finale on Friday at LA Southwest College.

In Wednesday's win, Long Beach and Cerritos were tied 28-28 at halftime before the Vikings outscored the Falcons 18-4 to open the second and jump ahead 46-32 at the 14:38 mark.

With under a minute left to play, LBCC held a 68-67 lead. Jay Merriweather made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to get within one. Cerritos had one final shot to win the game, inbounding the ball with four seconds to play, but Jonathan Brown's seven-foot jumper at the buzzer was no good and Long Beach held on for the win.

Freshman Michael Shivers (Hannibal, MO) came off the bench to score 13 points for the Vikings. Sophomore Chris Spencer (Jordan HS) also chipped in with nine points and five rebounds.