Boys’ basketball: Edison comes up short, drops tournament title game against St. John Bosco
Edison High boys’ basketball Coach Rich Boyce knew the championship game of the Corona del Mar Beach Bash on Saturday between his Chargers and St. John Bosco would be physical.
Boyce was spot on.
The teams combined for 49 fouls, including 26 by the Chargers, who had two players foul out
When the battle ended, it was the Braves who came away with a 75-68 victory.
“It’s kind of the way they play,” Boyce said of the Braves’ physical style. “I thought we responded pretty well. I thought we made some mistakes at the end of the game. We just had too much foul trouble to overcome.
The Braves (4-0) turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead in the third quarter and seemed on the verge of putting the game away.
But three baskets by Randall Walker in the final minute keyed an 8-3 run for Edison (3-1), who cut the deficit to five going into the fourth.
Walker then opened the fourth with a coast-to-coast layup to make it a one-possession contest, and then did it again to tie the score at 61.
A basket by JoJo Bush a three-pointer from Alpha Okoli put the Braves up, 68-63, with 1:20 remaining.
Edison missed a pair of three-pointers over the next 30 seconds and were forced to foul.
St. John Bosco made seven of eight free throws to clinch the victory.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Boyce said. “Our kids battled and we never gave up.”
Boyce was pleased with his team’s overall performance in the four-game tournament.
“I thought we didn’t play well the first couple of games, but the last two we really turned it on,” he said.
With the Chargers having to travel to Santa Monica on Thursday to take on the 6-1 Vikings, the schedule won’t get any easier, Boyce said.
The championship had been scheduled for 8:30 p.m., but Boyce is also Edison’s athletic director and had to be at the Chargers’ CIF State Regional football game Saturday against San Clemente.
In between the basketball and football games, the coach was also planning to attend a friend’s wedding reception.
Corona del Mar Beach Bash
St. John Bosco 75, Edison 68
Edison 22 - 22 - 11 - 13 — 68
SJB 13 - 28 - 19 - 15 — 75
E – Silva 3, Phillips 1, Walker 28, Slavik 2, S. Serven 11, Matthews 14, M. Serven 9.
3-pt. goals – Silva 1, Walker 2, S. Serven 1, Matthews 2, M. Serven 3.
Fouled out – M. Serven, Phillips.
Technicals – 2
SJB – Okoli 20, Watson 9, Gomez 12, Whiteside 10, Green 2, Bush 22.
3-pt. goals – Okoli 3, Gomez 4,
Fouled out – Watson
Technicals – 1