Lord, Glendale Come of Age and Knock Off Cerritos, 71-63

A year of playoff experience continues to pay big dividends for the Glendale College men’s basketball team.

Last season, a mostly freshman Vaquero team folded in the final minutes of a second-round game against then-defending state champion El Camino.

Wednesday night against Cerritos, Glendale once again found itself in a close game with a defending state champion.

This time, however, the sophomore-dominated Vaqueros stayed calm and upset the Falcons, 71-63, in the semifinals of the Southern California regional playoffs.

Glendale (24-11) will meet Rancho Santiago, a 105-86 winner over Harbor, on Saturday night.

The winner will advance to the eight-team state final March 8-10 at the Bren Center at UC Irvine.

Cerritos finished its season 22-11.

“Tonight, we really stepped up when it was crucial,” Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin said. “We made some very big plays.”

None were bigger than two steals by Justin Lord with less than 2 minutes 30 seconds left.

Glendale, which led for most of the game, had taken a 64-60 lead on a basket by Gary Fowler with 2:27 left when Lord deflected a Cerritos pass in the backcourt that resulted in a steal by Fowler. Vigen Serop made the Falcons pay for their error by sinking a pair of free throws with 1:40 left to put the Vaqueros ahead, 66-60.

Lord then provided the crushing blow on Cerritos’ ensuing possession when he stole a pass at the Falcons’ free-throw line and dribbled the length of the court for a dunk.

“Our defense is what won us the game,” Lord said.

Dave Swanson’s hot hand also contributed significantly to the Vaqueros’ victory. Swanson, a sophomore forward from Alemany High, celebrated his 21st birthday by scoring a game-high 27 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.

Lord added 19 points and Bruce Heicke and Fowler scored 11 and eight points, respectively, for the Vaqueros.

Scott Roczey scored a team-high 20 points for Cerritos as the Vaqueros limited guard Wayne Gipson--the most valuable player of the South Coast Conference--to 11 points, six below his season average.

“Last year, we peaked out at this time,” Swanson said. “This year, our determination is still peaking.”

Glendale led, 31-29, at halftime behind the play of Lord, who scored 14 points.

The Vaqueros got a break three minutes into the game when Cerritos forward Clay Schwartz, who averages 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, sustained an ankle injury that kept him out of the rest of the game.

Glendale also took advantage of the Falcons’ cold shooting to forge a 17-10 lead with 14:47 left in the half.

Cerritos then went on a 9-2 run and tied the score, 19-19, on a basket by Roczey, who had 10 points in the half.

Glendale went back on top, 27-21 on a three-point shot by Swanson.