East L.A. College's Jeremy Gerardo (Schurr High School grad) looks to put a move on a Pasadena player. ELAC won, 81-71. (Photo by Mario Villegas)
Story Created:
Jan 26, 2010 at 5:51 PM PST
Story Updated:
Jan 26, 2010 at 5:55 PM PST
Don’t look now but here comes the East L.A. College men’s basketball team.
Winners of four of their last five games, the suddenly-surging Huskies are off to a 2-0 start in the South Coast Conference thanks to victories over North Division rivals El Camino Compton Center, 68-64, and Pasadena, 87-71.
Forward Brandon Chavers, a freshman from Columbus High School in Downey, turned in another impressive performance in last Friday’s victory at Pasadena with 26 points, 19 rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore guard Lester Keys (Dorsey High) had 16 points and five rebounds and sophomore guard Jeremy Gerardo (Schurr) added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Coach Rob Rivera and his staff were impressed with the improved play of freshman post player Sergio Lugo (Bell Gardens), who collected 11 points and six rebounds.
The Huskies raced to an 8-0 lead and never looked back. They led by as many as 13 in the first half and were up 40-33 at halftime.
In the second half, Pasadena (6-13, 1-2) closed to within 60-53 with 12 minutes remaining, but couldn’t get any closer. The Huskies led 72-63 with 5:55 left and buried the Lancers with three consecutive 3-pointers, including two by Chavers and one by Keys in between.
“We still haven’t played our best game, but we’re getting closer,” ELAC coach Rob Rivera said. “We’re pretty excited, but we’re not celebrating because we have to continue to work hard to get better.”
In the North Division opener against Compton Jan. 20 at ELAC, Keys, after a scoreless first half, poured in 18 points in the second to lead the Huskies to the win. Gerardo scored 17 points, Chavers had 14, Paul King got eight and Alex Mendiola (Downey) chipped in six.
The Huskies, who improved to 7-12 overall, were scheduled to face L.A. Trade Tech Wednesday, then host Mt. San Antonio at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“This is a very big week for us,” Rivera said. “Trade Tech is very talented and is going to be tough to beat in their gym. Mt. SAC is ranked fifth in the state.”
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