4-AA BOYS : Martineau’s Jumper in Final Seconds Gets Edison Past Tustin

The battle lines were drawn as Edison and Tustin high schools met in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 4-AA playoffs Tuesday night at Marina High.

Edison wanted to play the game in a methodical, half-court style. All the better to make the most of a considerable height advantage, Edison Coach Jon Borchert figured.

Tustin desperately tried to make it a frantic, running, pressing game, to make the best use of its small but aggressive lineup.

Each team had its moments, but Edison managed to hold off Tustin for a 45-43 victory.

A 10-foot turnaround jump shot by Bill Martineau, the Chargers’ 6-foot-10 center, with 18 seconds left were the game-winning points.

The Chargers (20-8) next play Compton on Friday in the semifinals at a site to be determined. The Tillers finish the season 20-8.

Edison had blown a 13-point lead in the third quarter and an eight-point lead with 4:17 left to play.

Tustin had tied the score, 43-43, when guard Jentry Moore swished two free throws with 1:09 remaining.

Going without a timeout, Edison moved the ball into the frontcourt and ran the clock down. Finally, the Chargers got the ball to Martineau along the right-hand baseline. He turned and made a 10-footer.

“I just wanted to get it off early to make sure we had a chance to rebound,” Martineau said. “I just shot it. It was the heat of the game. I didn’t know if I had made it or not.”

He said the play was not designed to go to him.

“We just swung it around and looked for a weakness,” said Martineau, who had 10 points.

After a timeout, Tustin’s David Beilstein missed an open 18-foot jumper with about four seconds left. The rebound was batted around as time ran out.

Few would have predicted a close game after a rough first quarter left Tustin trailing, 13-4.

The Chargers hammered the ball inside to Martineau, Steve Thobe, a 6-5 forward, and Brandon Jessie, a 6-4 forward. They faced only minimal resistence from the Tillers, who had only one player taller than 6-5.

Tustin had a brief run midway through the second quarter when Beilstein hit a three-pointer to bring the Tillers to within, 15-11. But Edison pulled away and led, 22-11, at halftime on Todd Smyser’s three-pointer at the buzzer.

Edison led by 13 points twice in the third quarter, the last time, 26-13, with 7:15 left in the quarter.

A 14-4 run, sparked by an aggressive full-court press over the final 5:09 of the third quarter brought Tustin into contention. A follow-up basket by Jason Moore after an Edison turnover, tied the score, 31-31.

Edison then pulled away to start the fourth quarter, but Tustin’s press forced several key turnovers down the stretch.

“When they press you, you’re supposed to beat it and get layups,” Borchert said. “We always want to go inside. For some reason, we couldn’t get in there.”

Thobe added 10 points and Jessie nine for Edison. Jentry Moore had 15 points and Beilstein 11 for Tustin.