Tyler Hampton’s basket lifts Edison boys’ basketball to first-round SoCal Regional win
It came down to who had the last shot — or who made the last shot — as Edison High claimed its first victory in a CIF Southern California Regional boys’ basketball playoff encounter Tuesday night.
Tyler Hampton drove to the hoop to give the 11th-seeded Chargers a one-point lead with nine seconds to go in a frenzied conclusion to the Division II first-round clash with visiting Mission Bay. The CIF Southern Section Division 2A semifinalists ended up celebrating after Rami Anglo, not the sixth-seeded Buccaneers’ first choice for a final attempt, hit the rim with a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
The 64-63 triumph, claimed on the ninth lead change in the final five and a half minutes, gives Edison (27-5) another home game Thursday against Los Angeles City Section Open Division semifinalist Birmingham (18-8). No. 14-seeded Birmingham upset Southern Section 2A champion San Juan Hills, 64-56, in another first-round regional game Tuesday.
The winner of Thursday’s game heads to Saturday’s regional semifinals.
“[It was who made the last shot], and the last shot did go in [for us],” Chargers head coach Rich Boyce said. “Tyler made a great read that they were switching, and he drove to the basket, finished the play, and they got a good look [at the end], but, luckily for us, it was awry.
“It was a just a battle. Two good teams battling, playing hard. It really was a good win.”
Mission Bay (19-10), which lost to champion St. Augustine in the first round of the San Diego Section’s eight-team Open Division and had to open this tournament on the road as a higher seed because its gym is too small to adequately handle San Diego’s pandemic social-distancing requirements, used an 11-0 run to start the third quarter, taking a 40-39 lead after falling 10 points behind by halftime.
Edison, which lost its regional openers in 1994 and 2015, opened a five-point edge late in the quarter — on a Hampton three-pointer — and a four-point lead at the start of the fourth. But Charlie Hutchison scored on successive drives to the hoop to forge a 50-50 tie, and nobody led by more than three the rest of the way.
Hampton scored 19 points and Trey Wilborn netted 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter, hitting three-pointers to provide 54-52 and 60-58 advantages, the latter with 3:03 to go.
“I needed to hit two threes at the end of the game to make up for the rest of the game that I didn’t play very well,” said Wilborn, who turned to the student section, his arms aloft, after making both. “I picked it up at the end, and we got the ‘dub.’ We got the win. That’s all that matters.”
Hutchison made a free throw to make it a one-point game and Dylan Hugues hit two with 1:58 to make it 62-59, but Mission Bay point guard Gelo Gil scored on successive possessions — the first after a Hutchison interception — to give Mission Bay the lead with about 30 seconds to go.
Hampton’s heroics weren’t in the plan.
“It was supposed to go to Trey, but they did a good job doubling him and denying him,” Hampton said. “There wasn’t a lot of time on the clock, so I had to work with what I had, and I had to take it to the basket. Thankfully, I made it.”
The Buccaneers looked to get Gil, who scored 22 points in a terrific performance that included two highlight-reel baseline drives for baskets, open for a final shot, but Edison’s defense collapsed on him at the top of the key. It fell to Anglo, who had missed most of the second half after picking up his fourth foul not quite halfway through the third quarter.
Mission Bay, making its fifth Regional appearance in eight years and eighth since 2007, limited the Chargers to just five of 26 second-half shooting. But strong work on the offensive boards — Hampton had six of their 14 rebounds at their hoop — and nine fourth-quarter free throws (four by Wilborn, three by Hugues and two by Hampton) made the difference.
Edison outscored the Bucs 19-10 from the line and Gil missed all four of his second-half attempts.
“We’re usually a lot more clutch than that,” Mission Bay head coach Marshawn Cherry said. “I think the nerves got to them, and the crowd.”
Emerson Evans came off the bench to hit two three-pointers and score eight points for Edison, and Hugues had six points and eight rebounds. Gavin Girouard scored 20 and Hutchison 12 for the Bucs.
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CIF Southern California Regional Division II Playoffs
First round
Edison 64, Mission Bay 63
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Mission Bay 20 – 9 – 17 – 17 — 63
Edison 18 – 21 – 8 – 17 — 64
MB — Gil 22, Girouard 20, Hutchison 12, Metcalf 5, Anglo 2, Grebing 2.
3-pt. goals — Girouard 3, Gil 1, Hutchison 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
E — T. Hampton 19, Wilborn 18, Evans 8, Hugues 6, Bassaline 6, Delaney 5, K. Hampton 2.
3-pt. goals — Wilborn 3, Evans 2, T. Hampton 1, Delaney 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
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