Edison Calms Raucous Crowd with Victory

Nothing is easy in the Southern Section playoffs, especially for a team on the road against Glendora High School.

But Edison negated the effects of Glendora’s extremely partisan crowd with poise and composure to earn a 70-65 victory over the Tartans Tuesday night in a Division II-AA second-round game.

The Chargers (20-7) advance to the II-AA quarterfinals Friday against the Riverside J.W. North at a site to be determined.

In addition to battling the near-capacity crowd, Edison had to deal with Glendora’s blatantly physical style and the three-point shooting of Cameron Murray. That combination could have ended the Chargers’ season, but Edison never lost its’ cool despite almost losing a 16-point, third-quarter lead.

“I was proud of the way we overcame adversity,” Edison Coach Jon Borchert said.

Most of Edison’s key plays came at the free-throw line, where the Chargers made six consecutive attempts midway through the fourth quarter after Glendora (19-9) had cut it from 33-17 to 44-43.

Micah Kroeger and Kyle Murphy combined to make 14-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter, as Glendora came no closer than five points after Edison’s 6-0 free-throw run. Kroeger finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Murphy added 24 points and eight rebounds.

Murray scored 36 points, including nine of 20 three-pointers.