Skip to content
  • Los Alamitos' Conner Goen takes an elbow to the lip...

    Los Alamitos' Conner Goen takes an elbow to the lip from Edison's Tommy Barlow as they both went for a rebound in the first half Friday.

  • Los Alamitos' Connor Laines boxes out Edison's Jonah Tuato during...

    Los Alamitos' Connor Laines boxes out Edison's Jonah Tuato during the first half of Friday's game. Los Alamitos remained unbeaten in league with a 56-54 win.

  • Edison's Randall Walker draws contact with Los Alamitos Drew Platt...

    Edison's Randall Walker draws contact with Los Alamitos Drew Platt as he went for a layup during Friday's game.

  • Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku got a shot up over Edison's...

    Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku got a shot up over Edison's David Atencio during Friday's game.

  • Edison's Garrett White goes up for a rebound against Los...

    Edison's Garrett White goes up for a rebound against Los Alamitos's Eugene Mitter during Friday's game.

  • Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives past Edison's Nate Matthews during...

    Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives past Edison's Nate Matthews during Friday's game.

  • Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives past Edison's Nate Matthews during...

    Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives past Edison's Nate Matthews during Friday's game.

  • Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives around Edison's Nate Matthews during...

    Los Alamitos' Eyassu Worku drives around Edison's Nate Matthews during Friday's game.

  • His lip still bloody from a first-half shot to the...

    His lip still bloody from a first-half shot to the face, Los Alamitos' Conner Goen, left, celebrates with Chris Howard after the final buzzer. Los Alamitos defeated Edison, 56-54, in a Sunset League game.

  • Los Alamitos head coach Eddie Courtemarche disagrees with a referee's...

    Los Alamitos head coach Eddie Courtemarche disagrees with a referee's call during the second half of Friday's game.

  • Edison head coach Rich Boyce argued a referee's call during...

    Edison head coach Rich Boyce argued a referee's call during Friday's game.

  • Los Alamitos players celebrate their victory as the buzzer sounds...

    Los Alamitos players celebrate their victory as the buzzer sounds to end the game Friday.

  • Los Alamitos players celebrate their victory as the buzzer sounds...

    Los Alamitos players celebrate their victory as the buzzer sounds to end the game Friday.

  • Los Alamitos's Jacob Eyman draws contact with Edison's Nate Matthews...

    Los Alamitos's Jacob Eyman draws contact with Edison's Nate Matthews during Friday's game.

of

Expand

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Pepe Garcia was 0 for 5 on 3-point shots when he got the ball behind the 3-point line in the final minute.

“So I was kind of nervous,” Garcia said.

With his Los Alamitos team trailing Edison by two points, Garcia caught a kick-out pass from Eyassu Worku. At at a 45-degree angle from the basket, Garcia launched a high-arc shot that hit on the front of the rim and bounced around a couple of times before dropping through the net with 22 seconds remaining.

It turned out to be the winning shot for Los Alamitos as the Griffins beat Edison, 56-54, in a Sunset League game at Edison High.

Los Alamitos, No. 2 in the Orange County top 10, retained sole possession of first place in the league. The Griffins are 6-0 in league, 19-3 overall.

Edison, No. 10 in the county, is 18-5 overall and 4-2 in league. Both of the Chargers’ league losses are to Los Alamitos.

Griffins senior Worku scored a game-high 31 points, the same total he scored when Los Alamitos beat Edison earlier this month. He also had five rebounds and was 8 for 10 at the free-throw line. Garcia, also a senior, finished with 12 points.

Randall Walker led Edison with 19 points and nine rebounds. Nate Matthews, like Walker a junior, scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and had five rebounds for the Chargers.

After Garcia’s 3-pointer, Edison sophomore David Atencio drove to the basket and put up a left-handed layup that kissed the glass but barely lacked the angle to go in. The ball caromed off of the side of the rim, a scramble for the ball ensued and it went out of bounds to Los Alamitos with 0.3 seconds left. Los Alamitos inbounded the ball as that miniscule remaining time expired.

Edison left some points at the free-throw line, where the Chargers were 16 for 28. Los Alamitos made 14 of 17 foul shots.

The teams shared the league championship last season when both were 9-1 in league.

Edison had a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 26-24 advantage at halftime. Atencio scored seven quick points to start the third quarter to help the Chargers take a 45-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com