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  • Edison forward Garrett White, left, and Ayala guard Sean Paul...

    Edison forward Garrett White, left, and Ayala guard Sean Paul reach for a rebound during the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard Nate Matthews, right, reaches to block a shot...

    Edison guard Nate Matthews, right, reaches to block a shot by Ayala guard Austen Awosika in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard David Atencio, left, steals the ball away from...

    Edison guard David Atencio, left, steals the ball away from Ayala guard Oscar Pina in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard Randall Walker goes up against a wall of...

    Edison guard Randall Walker goes up against a wall of Ayala defenders in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard David Atencio, center Tommy Barlow, and guard Randall...

    Edison guard David Atencio, center Tommy Barlow, and guard Randall Walker, from left, react to losing to Ayala in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison's Tommy Barlow, left, and Randall Walker, right, wait for...

    Edison's Tommy Barlow, left, and Randall Walker, right, wait for the last seconds until the end of the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison forward Jonah Tuato, center, tries to drive past Ayala...

    Edison forward Jonah Tuato, center, tries to drive past Ayala forward Miles President, left, as he attempts to get close to the basket in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison forward Garrett White, left, lets the ball slip out...

    Edison forward Garrett White, left, lets the ball slip out of his hands during the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship against Ayala at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Ayala guard Oscar Pina, second from right, passes the ball...

    Ayala guard Oscar Pina, second from right, passes the ball past Edison forward Garrett White, right, during the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison forward Jonah Tuato listens to his coach Rich Boyce...

    Edison forward Jonah Tuato listens to his coach Rich Boyce as the Chargers trail Ayala late in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison center Tommy Barlow, left, grabs the rebound against Ayala...

    Edison center Tommy Barlow, left, grabs the rebound against Ayala in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison coach Rich Boyce yells out a play to his...

    Edison coach Rich Boyce yells out a play to his team during the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship against Ayala at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard Jake Barton, right, bumps Ayala forward Miles President...

    Edison guard Jake Barton, right, bumps Ayala forward Miles President as he tries to keep him from making the turn toward the basket in the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison center Tommy Barlow, left, and teammate Garrett White, center,...

    Edison center Tommy Barlow, left, and teammate Garrett White, center, defend against Ayala forward Miles President, right, during the CIF-SS Division 2AA basketball championship at the Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Edison guard Randall Walker gets free for a layup against...

    Edison guard Randall Walker gets free for a layup against Ayala in Saturday's CIF-SS Division 2AA championship.

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ANAHEIM – Sometimes, no matter how good a team’s effort is, that team will lose to a better team.

Edison ran into a better team Saturday.

The Chargers lost to Ayala of Chino Hills, 63-49, in the CIF-SS Division 2AA boys basketball championship game at Honda Center.

Edison’s season is not over. Chargers coach Rich Boyce said he was told Edison (24-8) will be selected to play in the CIF Southern California Regionals, the qualifying tournament for the CIF State championships.

Ayala (30-3) won its first CIF-SS boys basketball championship and will try to keep its season going in the regionals.

Boyce was impressed by the Bulldogs.

“Watching them on tape doesn’t do justice to how athletic they are,” Boyce said. “I thought we did a good job against them early. I told our kids at halftime that we were right in this game.”

Ayala’s halftime lead was 28-21, and Edison quickly trimmed the margin to five points. But Nate Matthews, Edison’s second-leading scorer and its best defensive player, got personal fouls Nos. 3 and 4 in the first minute of the quarter.

With Matthews on the bench, Ayala got going and outscored the Chargers, 19-8, in the third quarter to take a 47-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

Edison guard Randall Walker, like Matthews a junior, said the Chargers rarely had played such a superior team.

“They killed us on the boards and on the fastbreak,” Walker said. “They’re a very athletic team.”

Edison lost to Foothill in last season’s CIF-SS Division 1A championship game, 65-58. In the Chargers’ other CIF-SS boys basketball final, they lost to Mater Dei in the 1A final in 1994.

Matthews led Edison with 16 points and seven rebounds. Walker scored 11.

Brackets for the regionals will be released today. First-round games for Divisions 1-5 are Wednesday and the Open Division starts Friday.

Austen Awoskia, a senior guard who signed with Cal State Fullerton, and senior forward John Edgar led Ayala with 19 points apiece.

Ayala shot 54 percent from the field. Edison shot 29 percent from the field.

Ayala played a 2-3 zone throughout the game. A zone is a common defense at Honda Center, where high school players notoriously shoot poorly. The deep backdrops at Honda Center are a challenging depth-perception issue for high school shooters accustomed to the backdrops of high school gyms.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com