“Survive and advance” is a traditional basketball mantra. “Got to” appeared to be the Hornets mantra, as they came out victorious on Saturday night in front of a packed house inside the Hornets Nest, as Fullerton got to advance in the CCCAA SoCal playoffs with a 79-67 win against Cerritos College.
Each interviewed Hornet expressed the phrase “got to” before explaining an action, which implied something must be done to keep their season alive. On a night where the Hornets shot 22-38 from the free throw line, top scorers Christian Watson and Jeremiah Davis were oddly inefficient from the field and the team was out-rebounded by eight. However, Fullerton still found a way to get it done, and the source came from an unlikely place.
Enter Alex Archer, who said he was a guard at heart, was thrust into playing in the post with the Falcons small lineup and freshman forward JQ Strong in foul trouble. He played 30 minutes in the contest, the most he’s played all season.
“We knew we were going to need a good game from Alex,” said Fullerton College head coach Perry Webster. “He just took what the game gave him, and I don’t think we did a great job as a whole of taking what the game was giving us, but he’s one guy that did and that’s why he was successful.”
The Southwestern College transfer was a perfect 6-6 from the field, and 13 points scored was a season high for Archer. He thrived in his moment, and came off the bench with an energy that is so crucial during postseason play.
“To stay ready, all you really got to do is stay locked in because we go through a lot of stuff during preparation,” said Archer. “[Just] be ready to go when your number is called.”
In the first half, Fullerton College (25-4, 15-1) was not clicking with their usual free flowing style of offense. The Hornets seemed to force up a lot of tough, contested lay-ups instead of making the easier play which was a kick out to open shooters. Webster made it clear where the early issues lied.
“I thought we were a little selfish in the first half, I thought a few guys were trying to do too much and that’s just not how you’re successful in the playoffs,” said Webster. “You’re successful by being together and playing together. We got to fix it.”
There was a lot of inexperience on the floor, and sophomore guard RJ Banks felt like it was on him and Davis to make sure the rest of the team knew what they were walking into.
“This whole past week, we have just been really trying to emphasize to our guys that this could very well be our last game,” said Banks. “Don’t try to save energy, don’t try to save any effort. Once you come out here, leave everything you have on the floor because we are trying to keep earning another week.”
The top play of the game actually originated from a missed shot in the first half. Sophomore guard Jaden Byers was forced into a tough fadeaway jumper as the shot clock was about to expire. Despite the miss, he went after the loose ball and poked the rebound away from Falcons sophomore guard Everett May.
He then tried to tap it to Archer through traffic, but it was Watson who was in the right place at the right time. He grabbed the free ball, spun around his defender and finished a sweet finger roll all in one motion, all sparked by the tenacious effort of Byers.
After multiple ties and lead changes in the opening minutes, the Hornets used a four minute stretch in the 1st half to go on a solid 11-2 run to try and start building a lead. After a Cerritos College timeout, sophomore forward Eric Clark hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and the Falcons, who came in on a 13-game winning streak, were right back in the game.
Coming out of halftime up 36-34, the Hornets usually leave the locker room and spend the remaining time warming up, drinking water or talking to coaches. In this game however, they spent the remaining time gathered around assistant coach Marshall Johnson, listening to his message.
“He was just asking a question about, ‘If we trust?’ If we trust each other, if we trust one another to go out there and if we trust the next guy to make the play,” said Archer.
Banks expressed a slightly more animated response.
“He was literally just telling us ‘Wake up!’ All the shots and all the looks that they [Cerritos] were getting we felt like it was our fault, we were messing up our assignments,” said Banks. “We got to do what we prepared for.”
Johnson’s words looked to ignite some energy for Fullerton, as the Hornets were clearly on the attack to start the 2nd half. The downside, they were unable to capitalize on their open shots and free throws. After a Watson lay-up for Fullerton at the 19:21 mark, the Hornets did not score for over two minutes, though they had three shots in the paint and missed three free throws during that stretch.
Cerritos (20-10, 10-0) was in even worse shape. After Clark made a free throw at the 19:40 mark of the 2nd half, the Falcons did not score for another four minutes following missed shots and a few turnovers.
“We had a little spurt there where we weren’t able to score and fouled a little too much and let it get too far away from us,” said Cerritos head coach Russ May.
Once the scoring picked up, the Hornets kept the Falcons at arms length the entire half. After a steal from freshman guard Justin Davis, he then found freshman guard Addy G’Bye for a corner pocket 3-pointer to put the Hornets up nine with just about 11 minutes to go. That is where the lead stayed for the most part.
Davis was Fullerton’s leading scorer with 14 points and Banks chipped in 12 points. Cerritos was led by freshman guard Dillon Botts who had a game-high of 15 points. The Falcons also got 14 points from Clark and 11 points from freshman guard Darron Henry.
The Hornets have advanced to host a 3rd round CCCAA playoff game against Mt. San Jacinto (27-3, 13-3) on Saturday, March 9 at 6 p.m. inside the Hornets Nest.
