SAN CLEMENTE – T.J. Shorts knew he would have to keep a clean slate in the second half of Tustin’s CIF-SS Division 1AA second round matchup with San Clemente.
The senior guard collected his third foul with 2:30 left to play in the first half and in his absence, the Tritons built a 35-28 lead.
Shorts played the entire second half and the Tillers staved off a San Clemente comeback to earn a 61-59 and advance.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one, they’re bigger than us, so we had to rebound,” Shorts said. “The last play of the game, when we got the final rebound, we were able to breathe.”
Tustin (26-2) advances to the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season and will host Millikan on Friday.
With the score tied at 54-54, San Clemente went cold early in the fourth quarter, going scoreless for 5:05 while Tustin grabbed a seven-point lead.
But Sam Darnold hit a 3-pointer and Scott Herrod hit a pair of free throws to trim the lead to two. After a missed layup by Myles Garvin, San Clemente drew up a play for one final try.
Darnold got free on a screen and fired from 16 feet, but it fell short.
“He gets a great look every time,” Tritons coach Marc Popovich said. “It was exactly what we wanted out of that timeout.”
Shorts was integral in a 12-2 run to open the second half, scoring eight of those points as the Tillers jumped ahead 40-37.
But San Clemente (19-8) responded. Darnold tied the game with a 3-pointer, igniting a long-distance shootout featuring additional shots from Gage Shelmidine and George Wilson.
Tustin took a 52-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter before Darnold erased it with another 3-pointer. Darnold led the Tritons with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Shorts gave the Tillers the lead for good with a driving left-handed layup with 5:47 remaining. He finished with 24 points and eight rebounds as the Tillers extended their win streak to 19 games. Wilson added 20 points and eight rebounds.
“That’s a talented and well-coached group we just beat,” Tillers coach Ringo Bossenmeyer said. “They put us back on our heels, but we have a resilient group.”
San Clemente’s 12-game win streak was snapped in the loss.
“These seniors were so giving for each other,” Popovich said. “These guys gave everything they had. It was a great effort.”
Contact the writer: npercy@ocregister.com
