THE PREPS : Boys’ 5-A Basketball Playoffs : Edison Goes for Another Upset, Takes On Mater Dei in Quarterfinals

Edison High School’s 69-62 upset victory over third-seeded St. Anthony in the opening round of the Southern Section’s 5-A division playoffs last week was surprising . . . or was it?

Despite an inconsistent season, Edison (17-10) has defeated some of the Southern Section’s best teams. The Chargers twice beat Capistrano Valley, the top-ranked team in Orange County most of the season. Edison also beat Long Beach Millikan, the second-seeded team in the 5-A division.

Granted, the Chargers had to beat Fountain Valley in a playoff game after the conclusion of Sunset League play to earn a playoff spot. Edison and Fountain Valley tied for third place in the six-team league.

Edison will get an opportunity for another upset at 7:30 tonight when the Chargers play host to Mater Dei, the three-time defending 5-A champion, in the quarterfinals at Huntington Beach High.

Mater Dei (18-7) failed to earn a seeding in the playoffs for the first time in Coach Gary McKnight’s six seasons, but the Monarchs were impressive in a 76-66 first-round victory over Notre Dame.

Mike Hopkins, who has played inconsistently most of the season, had one of his best games of the year against Notre Dame. Hopkins scored 26 points and made 9 of 11 shots.

In another 5-A division game:

Ocean View (16-7) vs. Lakewood (18-9) at Millikan High: Lakewood survived five three-point attempts--all misses--by Loyola in the final 56 seconds and held on for a 69-68 victory in the first round. Brian Camper, a 6-2 swingman, is the team’s leading scorer with a 17-point average, followed by point guard Elijah Anderson (12.6) and Victor Camper (12.4). Ocean View has won 12 of its last 13 games behind the play of center Todd Norman (16 points) and point guard Mike Frohn (15.3).

Top-seeded Saddleback (24-4) will meet Kennedy (19-7) at Western High in the 3-A division quarterfinals Friday night. Second-seeded Sunny Hills (22-3) also drew a home game and will play host to Palos Verdes (19-7) at Biola College.

Los Alamitos (21-6) plays host to Rolling Hills (20-6) at Cypress College. Tustin (22-5) drew the only road game among county teams in the division, traveling to San Gabriel to meet Alhambra (22-5).

In the 4-A division, fourth-seeded Santa Ana (25-3) will play host to Buena (23-2) at Rancho Santiago College and third-seeded Capistrano Valley (24-4) travels to Cal Poly Pomona to play Diamond Bar (23-4).

Defending state Division II champion Woodbridge (20-5) plays host to La Canada (25-2) at Irvine High in the 2-A division. All quarterfinal games are scheduled to begin at 7:30.