TUSTIN — “We’re a team full of winners.” Those words by senior Jayden Oei provide some clear perspective for Edison’s boys basketball team, and the backstory provides some clear context as the “new look” Chargers won their second pool play game of the Tustin Holiday Classic on Friday.
Oei led the Chargers with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, in their 53-47 come-from-behind victory over Tesoro.
It was the sixth consecutive victory for Edison, and fourth in a row since three members of the state championship-winning football team joined the squad. Their impact has been monumental already, is going to be more significant once they get into basketball shape, and has the Chargers believing in themselves.
“This team has a lot of potential,” Chargers coach Josh Beaty said. “I’ve never experienced getting football players so late in the season. It feels like the season is just starting.”
The old Edison team has come from behind in games only to lose. But this new team, which also includes junior point guard Derick Johnson, who missed the start of the season with a couple of ankle injuries, has now shown it can finish.
They were down 47-40 with 4 minutes 1 second remaining. Then Oei hit a 3-pointer at 2:47. Senior Connor McNally put back a rebound and an and-one, Oei scored on a spin move at the end of a fast break for a 48-47 lead with 1:46 left. Then Johnson hit a runner on the fast break at 1:03. Then Oei made a free-throw with 21 seconds to go, and McNally made two with 9 seconds remaining. Thirteen points in less than three minutes with the game on the line.
“We’re a team full of winners,” Oei said. “The football players won a state title. I don’t like to lose. Connor doesn’t like to lose. …”
The messaging is clear. Edison doesn’t like to lose, and it hasn’t since defensive back Teo Hampton, wide receiver Jacob Martin (2 points), and defensive tackle Devyn Blake (9 points) traded their cleats for sneakers. Add the presence of Johnson (10 points) – arguably the Chargers’ best player – and you’ve got a brand new team, a brand new outlook, a brand new sheriff in the Sunset League.
By winning, Edison avenged a 45-44 loss to Tesoro on Dec. 6. Edison improved to 10-6, and Tesoro dropped to 11-6. If Edison can beat Grant’s Pass (Ore.) on Saturday, it will play for the tournament championship on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
“There’s a different energy at practice, there’s a different energy on the bench during games, they just bring confidence,” Beaty said of the arrival of the football players. “Now they come here and it’s a different dynamic. I just hope we play better – we didn’t play very well.”
The victory Friday at Tustin High was important because the Chargers proved to themselves they could come from behind and win. But it was pretty tenuous.
Tesoro looked like it was a couple of possessions from victory, but the bucket dried up and the Titans couldn’t fill it. Max Draper’s layup gave Tesoro a 47-40 lead capping a 13-4 run to begin the fourth quarter. But then – nothing.
“We missed a wide-open three from our best three-ball shooter, we missed three layups in traffic, and we missed two free throws from a kid who shoots 70 percent,” Tesoro coach Steve Garrett said. “That’s it. I loved those looks. We had one turnover. That was it. Five possessions, that’s the difference. Make any of those and you stop the bleeding a little bit, change the momentum. Credit to (Edison). They had a couple of big kids that shoved their way in and willed them to win, got big offensive rebounds. I thought our youth showed up.”
Tesoro started a freshman, a sophomore and three juniors, so the Titans’ have a lot of upside potential. They got an outstanding performance from Draper, who scored 19 – including eight in the first half as Tesoro built a 27-21 lead, and eight of his team’s 13 points in the fourth quarter. Adam Smaili added 10 points.
“They were outcompeting us, they were playing tougher than us, beating us to loose balls,” Oei said of the Titans. “The most important thing was we weren’t rotating back on defense. Once we said, ‘we gotta get stops,’ and started getting those stops, we made the run.”
Edison knows something about getting stops and making runs. At least, its football players do. And at the moment, that’s good enough.
Related Articles
High School Sports | Crean Lutheran girls basketball handles Marina to extend its sizzling start High School Sports | Malakhi Johnson leads Villa Park boys basketball to victory in Coast Classic High School Sports | El Dorado girls basketball makes late surge but loses to Lakewood in Sunny Hills tournament High School Sports | Newport Harbor boys basketball uses balanced scoring for win in Tustin tournament High School Sports | Santa Margarita and Beckman girls basketball teams post big wins in SoCal Holiday Prep Classic
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Edison boys basketball continues hot streak by rallying to beat Tesoro )
Also on site :
- Anne Burrell's Husband Looks Somber in First Photo Since Food Network Star's Death
- Iran threatens US bases in Middle East, asserts nuclear facilities undamaged
- Trump’s Gulf Arab allies race to avoid all-out war in Iran