Los Alamitos holds off Edison in wild Sunset League finish

With first place on the line, Chargers battle but fall, 52-51, in boys' basketball contest.

February 08, 2014

Edison's AJ Garrity can only watch as players, fans,… (Don Leach, HB Independent )

Edison got what it had hoped for Friday: a shot at first place in the Sunset League boys' basketball race.

The Chargers, in fact, had three shots at a share of the league lead in the final 9.3 seconds of their showdown with Los Alamitos, but when the final buzzer sounded it was the visiting Griffins who were able to somehow survive.

Two of the three shot attempts Edison got off in a wild and frantic finish at Dave Mohs Gymnasium bounced off the rim — the other was blocked — and Los Alamitos was able to escape with a 52-51 victory that would give the Griffins at least a share of the 2014 league championship.

Los Alamitos, ranked No. 11 in CIF Southern Section Division 1AA, improved to 8-0 in league and took a two-game lead on Edison in the league standings with two games remaining. The Chargers, No. 6 in Division 1A, fell to 6-2 in league but still maintain sole possession of second place.

The Griffins (21-3) have league games next week with third-place Newport Harbor (5-3 league) and Huntington Beach (2-6 league).

The Chargers close out league play next week with games against Huntington and Fountain Valley (1-7).

Edison (19-5) had won four straight games since a 63-54 loss at Los Alamitos in their first league meeting Jan. 17, to stay in line for a possible league title.

Yes, Coach Rich Boyce said the Chargers got the shot that they wanted Friday.

"It was a good high school game tonight," Boyce said. "You saw two teams give it their all out there. We got what we wanted there at the end. The shots just didn't fall for us."

Edison pulled to within 50-49 with 20 seconds left when freshman guard Randall Walker drove for a layup over the reach of Los Alamitos junior forward Jack Kaub. Six seconds later, Kaub would score on an easy layup after teammate Khalid Washington beat Edison's press upcourt and found a wide open Kaub in the lane. Kaubs' basket put the Griffins up 52-49 with 14 seconds remaining.

On Edison's next trip up court, junior guard AJ Garrity was fouled on what appeared to be a shot attempt from beyond three-point range, but the foul occurred before Garrity's attempt. With the Chargers in the double bonus, Garrity was awarded two free throws and sank both with 9.3 seconds on the clock.

The Chargers were down, 52-51, but they got the ball right back when Griffins forward Ryan Kusch couldn't inbound the ball and was called for a five-second violation.

Boyce called time out to huddle his team for a final shot.

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