South Coast Christmas Tournament : Edison’s Victory Goes to the Wire
For one, very long second, Edison High School didn’t know if it had won or lost.
Santa Clara guard Art Santana put up a last-second shot that hung on the lip of the rim as the buzzer sounded. Everyone on the court just stood and watched.
“At first it looked like it was going to roll in,” Edison center Bill Martineau said. “But, then it started to slide off.”
When it did, the Chargers had a 39-38 upset victory over Santa Clara Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the South Coast Christmas tournament.
Martineau was one of the key figures in the upset. His 5-foot hook shot gave Edison the lead, 39-38. And Martineau blocked John McGill’s shot with 3 seconds left, just before Santana’s last attempt.
Santa Clara entered the game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Ventura County. The Saints had a front line that featured Bubba Burrage (6 feet 7 inches), Shon Tarver (6-5) and McGill (6-5).
The Chargers had to overcome a 4-point third quarter and rally from a 13-point deficit.
Santa Clara (10-1), the top-seeded team in the tournament, outscored Edison, 14-4, in the third quarter to turn a 21-18 halftime lead into a 35-22 advantage. Burrage scored 8 points in the quarter.
With 6 minutes left, Edison didn’t appear to have much of a chance. The Chargers trailed by 9 points, 35-26, and were having trouble getting good shots.
The Chargers made 8 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter. Bryan Murphy, who had a team-high 15 points, made 5 of 7.
The Chargers (5-5) scored the first 9 points of the quarter. Brian Colclough ended the run with a 3-pointer to pull Edison to within 4 points, 35-31, with 3 minutes remaining.
Colclough stripped the ball from Santana and fed Murphy for a layup that cut Santa Clara’s lead to 38-37 with 1:15 left.
Santana was then fouled with 1:02 left. He made the free throw, but it was disallowed after Burrage was called for a lane violation, giving the ball to Edison.
The Chargers worked the clock down to 40 seconds. Coach Jon Borchert tried to call timeout, but before he could the ball went inside to Martineau, who turned amid three defenders and dropped in a short hook.
In other championship quarterfinals:
Estancia 64, Laguna Hills 61--Mike Curtis scored 25 points and had a crucial steal and basket, as Estancia remained undefeated. With Laguna Hills leading, 59-58, with 1:20 left, Curtis stole a pass a scored on a layup to put the Eagles ahead to stay. Augustin Heredia scored 11 points and Paul McDaniel 10 for Estancia (10-0).
Irvine 61, Huntington Beach 57--John Molle made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch as Irvine held off Huntington Beach’s fourth-quarter rally.
Dana Hills 62, Long Beach Jordan 54--Chris Delfs scored 19 points and John Lloyd 17 for the Dolphins (11-3).
