DIVISION II-AA : Beilstein Propels Tustin Past Edison

Guard David Beilstein called Tustin’s 77-49 victory over Edison Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section’s Division II-AA basketball playoffs, “almost a perfect game.”

Edison Coach Jon Borchert, who likened the loss to an avalanche, said, “One team was playing well and the other wasn’t, so the result was not pretty.”

The rematch of last year’s quarterfinal match was more than a mismatch at Foothill High. One play late in the fourth quarter summed it up best.

Edison center Paul Baran missed a breakaway dunk during garbage time with 1:23 remaining and was cited for a technical foul for hanging onto the rim. Two subsequent free throws gave Tustin a 75-47 lead. It was that kind of a night.

Tustin (24-4) did everything right and Edison (21-7) did everything wrong. The roof caved in with six minutes remaining in the third quarter when Jentry Moore gave Tustin a 49-20 lead and all Edison could do was play out the game.

“They did whatever they wanted to,” Borchert said. “Give Tustin’s defense credit. We’ve shot 50% as a team all season, and we couldn’t buy a basket in the first half.”

Edison was 6 for 26 in the first half and four of those came on follow shots. Brandon Jessie, Edison’s talented junior forward, began the game by casting off three-point shots that weren’t close and it was all downhill for the Chargers after that.

Beilstein was brilliant, scoring 27 points and adding 12 assists as Tustin advanced to the semifinals Tuesday against Muir (23-4). Muir advanced with a 66-58 victory over Dominguez.

Beilstein repeatedly picked Edison’s defense apart, dishing to Moore, Thomas Clayton or Brian Reider for easy shots underneath or hitting uncontested three-point shots. Moore opened with three straight baskets to give Tustin a 10-2 lead.

Beilstein finished off Edison in the second quarter with 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and then was content to play point guard in the third quarter. Beilstein opened the second half with five crowd-pleasing passes to set up teammates for easy shots.

“I felt it all the way tonight,” he said. “It seemed like everybody was on top of their game. We couldn’t do anything wrong.”

Tom McCluskey, Tustin’s fiery coach, credited Beilstein’s play and the team’s defense.

“When David goes, we go,” McCluskey said. “He has such an aura of confidence that it spreads to the rest of the team. I thought our defense caused their offensive inefficiency and then it snowballed. Yeah, I guess you could say it was an avalanche.”

It was a forgettable night for Jessie despite scoring 16 points and getting 13 rebounds. But there was some consolation when he scored on a thunderous dunk in the third quarter that finally quieted the Tustin student section chant of “Overrated.”