COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Slow Start, Slow Finish Hinder OCC in Loss to Cerritos

Orange Coast started its nonconference men’s basketball game against Cerritos the same way it ended--with a prolonged scoreless streak--and the result was a 61-50 loss Friday at OCC.

Cerritos (18-2) entered with a 14-game winning streak, but OCC played hard and drew as close as three points when Michael Wenzlaff’s three-pointer cut the lead to 46-43 with 4 minutes 59 seconds left. It was the second consecutive three-pointer for Wenzlaff.

But Cerritos’ Phil Henderson and Matt Mitchell scored consecutive baskets, and the Falcons led, 50-43, 30 seconds later.

OCC’s final points of the game came when Jeff Porter made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 55-50 with 2:34 left. Porter had a team-high 14.

OCC (8-9) had even more problems scoring at the start of the game. The Pirates failed to score until Mark Moneypenny made a short shot 5:23 into the game.