5-A Division : Verbum Dei Has Tradition, Edison Has the Win : Chargers Play Best Offensive Game of the Season, Must Face Long Beach Poly
Verbum Dei High School’s basketball team has been to the playoffs for 20 consecutive seasons, but it didn’t faze the Edison Chargers, who were at the top of their form Friday night.
The Chargers shot a sizzling 66% to beat Verbum Dei, 69-55, in the first round of the Southern Section 5-A playoffs at Edison.
The Chargers (16-9) will meet Long Beach Poly, an 89-59 winner over St. Paul Friday, in the second round Tuesday night at a neutral site.
This is the first time the Chargers have advanced to the second round in Jon Borchert’s three seasons as coach. He was understandably pleased.
“Taking all the factors into account, I think this was the best offensive game we’ve played all season,” he said.
Charger guard Ken Ammann scored the first basket, and the Sunset League’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs never abandoned the lead. Ammann, who finished with a game-high 26 points, also scored the last Charger basket.
“The last couple games, everyone’s been playing up to his potential,” Ammann said. “We played well early in the season, then we slowed down for a while, and now I think we’re peaking.”
It appeared that Edison beat the Eagles (17-9), the No. 3 team from the Camino Real League, at their own game--speed and fine shooting. Ammann had eight points in the first quarter, on jumpers and fast breaks, as the Chargers took a 20-16 lead.
They stretched it to 40-26 at the half when guard Chris Cole scored 8 of his 12 points. Edison, which shot 28 of 42, played a complete game, committing just one turnover to the Eagles’ six in the first half.
The Chargers clearly savored the chance to face a man-to-man defense, the first one they had seen since before the opening of the Sunset League season. Edison’s accurate passes helped neutralize the Eagles’ quickness and the Chargers made 18 of 28 first-half shots from the field. Verbum Dei made 13 of 27.
The Eagles managed only three baskets in the third quarter and went four minutes without scoring one, but guard David Jones’ five free throws helped them to narrowly outscore the Chargers, 11-10, in the quarter.
With 5:00 left in the game, the Eagles looked as if they were going to rally. Forward Kevin Williams (14 points) scored twice and Jones made a three-point play to push Verbum Dei to within 11 points, 56-45.
But Edison’s Doug Katona, who finished with 11 points and a game-high 9 rebounds, replied with a steal and a three-point play of his own for a 59-45 lead that was never again threatened.