Chargers make a run
Edison High and Ocean View needed victories Tuesday night to move deeper into the CIF Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs, and it was the former that was able to come up with a big win.
As a result, Edison has gained a berth into a divisional Final Four.
The Chargers traveled for a Division 2AA quarterfinal matchup at Claremont and used a big second quarter to gain distance from the Wolfpack and went on to take a 78-71 victory. The triumph sends the Chargers to their second consecutive semifinals appearance, and they will host Fontana Kaiser at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Cats, 26-4 and the Sunkist League runner-up, advanced to the semifinals by eliminating Fontana A.B. Miller (Citrus Belt League No. 3) in a 77-51 rout.
The Cats have won their three playoff games by an average of 29 points.
In a back-and-fourth game, Edison pulled away from a 16-16 first-quarter tie by outscoring Claremont 22-12 in the second quarter, to build a 38-28 halftime lead. The Wolfpack trimmed their deficit to five points (56-51) heading into the fourth quarter where the Chargers converted at the free-throw line to withstand the comeback attempt.
Junior guard Randall Walker scored a game-high 28 points. Junior guard Nate Matthews scored 22 points, sophomore guard David Atencio 12 points, senior center Tommy Barlow nine points, and senior guard Jake Barton seven points.
Edison, which tied with Newport Harbor for second place in the Sunset League, improved to 23-7 overall.
“There are things we will need to do better to keep on advancing but we are very happy to be back in the semifinals,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said.
Last year, Edison advanced to the Division 1A title game and finished runner-up to the title.
Edison easily eliminated visiting Segerstrom (Golden West League No. 3), 72-49, in a playoff opener Feb. 17. Walker led the scoring with 23 points, Atencio scored 18 points and Matthews 10 points.
The Chargers traveled Friday to Arroyo Grande (PAC 8 League No. 4) and came up with a 55-43 win over the Eagles. Matthews paced the scoring with 23 points, Walker scored 11 points and Barlow had nine points.
In a Division 3A quarterfinal game played between league champions, Ocean View ran into a buzz-saw Tuesday in visiting Rancho Mirage. The undefeated and top-seeded Rattlers opened the game with a quick blitz, ran their transition game to near-perfection, and guard Charles Neal’s uncanny shot selections ignited two first-half scoring blitzes, all paved the way to a 90-62 win.
The junior was unstoppable, hitting fadeaway and off-balance jumpers throughout as Rancho Mirage won its 30th game. He keyed a 14-0 run in the first quarter, and a 15-0 spree in the second quarter, the two allowing the Rattlers to take a commanding, 54-22 halftime lead. Neal scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the opening half.
The De Anza League champion has won each of their three playoff games by no less than 24 points, and opened postseason play with a 77-32 win over Jurupa Valley.
“We had talked before the game about [Rancho Mirage’s] ability to hit shots and boy, were those guys on fire early,” Ocean View co-head Coach Tim Walsh said of the Rattlers. “They came to play. They did a great job with their transition offense, really played with some confidence, and I can’t say enough about No. 4 [Neal]. He not only hits some incredible shots, but he sees the entire floor. That’s a good basketball player.
“We were shellshocked at first. The challenge to our guys at halftime was to go out and win the second half. I’m proud of the way our guys played in the second half. They never gave up and fought hard. They have a lot of pride.”
Senior forward Christian Anderson, despite being saddled with four fouls, gave a strong performance and led Ocean View with 23 points to go with 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Paul Head, who hit five three-point shots including several from long range, scored 18 points with six rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Zamir Kelly had nine points, four rebounds and three assists, sophomore guard Bryson Betti, whose three-pointer just over one minute into the game gave the Seahawks their only lead (5-4), had eight points, eight rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Andrew Reynolds had three points and nine rebounds, and senior guard Alex Sepulveda scored one point.
Golden West League champion Ocean View, which had a 14-game winning streak snapped Tuesday, ended the year 25-5.
The Seahawks went over the century mark in scoring and won by a big margin for the second consecutive game by overwhelming visiting Garden Grove Pacifica (Empire League at-large) in a playoff opener Feb. 17, 103-69. Anderson posted a game-high 27 points to go with 14 rebounds. Reynolds scored 20 points and had seven rebounds, Head had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, Betti 13 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists, and Kelly 10 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
The Seahawks had closed out the regular season the previous week with a 104-50 win over Golden West League foe Santa Ana.
In its second-round game Friday, the Seahawks outscored host Servite, 17-13 in the fourth quarter, to pull out a 56-53 win over the Friars (Trinity League at-large). Kelly had a game-best 15 points with six rebounds, Anderson 14 points and eight rebounds, and Head 11 points.
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Local foursome falls in first round
Four other local teams, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Marina and Brethren Christian — each playing on the road, were eliminated in first-round action Feb. 17.
Fountain Valley traveled to battle South Coast League champion San Clemente in Division 1AA and the Barons, an at-large team from the Sunset League, rallied from a slow start and big deficit only to end up with a 61-51 loss to the Tritons.
Junior guard Mike Lightbody drained eight three-point shots for the Barons and led all scorers with 29 points. Junior guard Matt Serven scored 10 points.
Fountain Valley ended the year 16-13 and Coach Steve Schultz called it a “great season” for his team which he said made the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Huntington Beach went to Pacific View League champion Oxnard for its Division 1A playoff opener, and the Oilers and were locked in a tight game before the host Yellowjackets were able to hold on for a 61-59 victory.
The Oilers were down 10 points midway through the second half before mounting a comeback that brought them to within a point.
Junior guard Noah Gonzalez scored 14 points, junior guard Alekos Mitchel 10 points, and second guard Nick Karidakis had nine points for the Oilers.
Huntington, an at-large entry to the playoffs from the Sunset League, finished 12-15.
“I am very proud of the way our guys played this season,” Huntington Coach Billy Thompson said. “This is a special group of young men that really care about each other. I believe they made the most of their talents and abilities and competed to win in every game we played this season.”
Marina was in Irvine for a Division 2A opener against Pacific Coast League champ Northwood and the host Timberwolves overcame an early deficit to eliminate the Vikings, 62-53.
Marina, which trailed by five points with just over a minute to play, was led by senior guard Braden Meyers with 17 points. Senior forward Buzz Stafford had 13 points and seven rebounds, and freshman forward Jakob Alamudun 10 points and six rebounds.
The Vikings, also an at-large playoff team from the Sunset League, went 13-14 overall.
“It is always difficult to get a bunch of teenagers to play as hard as they can every single day of the season, practice or a game,” Marina Coach Nick Racklin said. “Our guys played as hard as they could in our CIF playoff game, and had they been able to sustain that effort and intensity all season long, we could have had a different outcome in our journey. But, they are kids, riding the emotional roller coaster of high school, and everything affects their play and effort every single day. My team can look back at this season and say that they never quit.”
Brethren Christian visited Playa del Rey for its Division 5A matchup with top-seeded St. Bernard’s, and the visiting Warriors were eliminated by the Vikings by a 79-26 score. Senior center Sam Kennard led BC with 20 points and 11 rebounds in his final game.
The Warriors, a playoff at-large entry from the Academy League, finished 6-21.
“With only one senior [Kennard] graduating, we are already looking forward to next year,” BC Coach Jon Bahnsen said.
