ANAHEIM – It was just another Foothill game.
If winning a CIF championship can be just another game.
Foothill got contributions from a variety of players Saturday to beat Edison, 65-58, in the CIF-SS Division 1A boys basketball championship game at Honda Center.
This is Foothill’s second CIF-SS basketball championship. The Knights also won a CIF title in 2010.
By winning, Foothill (28-3) is guaranteed a berth in the CIF Southern California Regionals that is the qualifying tournament for the CIF State championships. Edison (25-7) has a chance of getting selected, too. The Regionals begin this coming week after participants, seedings and first-round pairings are announced Sunday.
Foothill trailed by two at the end of the first quarter, then outscored Edison by eight points in the second quarter to take a 25-19 lead into halftime. After shooting 4 for 11 in the first quarter, Foothill was 4 for 7 in the second quarter.
Riley O’Hern scored a team-high 16 points, including a vital 3-pointer that gave the Knights a 55-50 lead with 1:25 remaining. Lucas Araujo scored 13 points. Reed Nakakihara and Eric Patton scored 10 points each.
Patton’s impact was mostly on the defensive end. He had eight defensive rebounds, blocked three shots and deterred others.
Nakakihara said Patton is the last line of defense, and a good one. The guards can gamble, going for steals, knowing the 6-foot-6 senior is behind them.
“Eric cleans up all of our mistakes,” Nakakihara said. “He’s a big presence for us and we’re glad we have him.”
Brae Ivey led Edison with 18 points and seven assists. AJ Garrity scored 13 for the Chargers.
Edison’s calling card has been outside shooting this year. The Chargers took plenty of 3-point shots, 26 of them, and made eight.
For the game, Foothill shot 51 percent. Edison shot 40 percent.
Foothill coach Rusty Van Cleave wanted the Knights to play Saturday the way they always play.
“We felt like if we could be ourselves in the playoffs,” he said, “then good things would happen.”
Edison had a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Foothill led, 25-19, at halftime.
outscored the Chargers by eight points in the second quarter to take a 25-19 lead into halftime.
Edison’s Jake Haar made back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Chargers trim the Foothill lead to one point going into the fourth quarter.
The Chargers had a four-point lead in the final quarter. A 3-pointer by O’Hern put Foothill on top for good, 44-43, with 6 minutes left in the game.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
