Tustin’s little guy had a big game and so did its big guy.
The appropriately named T.J. Shorts scored a game-high 20 points and Myles Garvin scored 10 points with 10 rebounds for the Tillers in a 61-38 win over Troy in a second-round game of the Corona del Mar Beach Bash boys basketball tournament at Corona del Mar High.
Tustin (4-0) will play Edison in a semifinal Friday at 7 p.m. at Corona del Mar. Corona del Mar plays Mater Dei, No. 1 in the Orange County preseason rankings, in the other semifinal Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Corona del Mar. The tournament championship game is Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Corona del Mar.
Shorts, a 5-foot-9 senior point guard, made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first half. Along with his scoring and rebounding, Garvin, a 6-4 senior, guarded Troy 6-8 senior Wenzel Akinboro. He held Akinboro to six points.
Garvin was pleased with the outcome of that matchup.
“The game plan was to jam him up on screens and not let him get any slips to the basket,” said Garvin, who transferred from Foothill to Tustin. “He’s a lot of weight to push around and he’s a good player. I felt like I fared pretty well against him.”
Tustin coach Ringo Bossenmeyer hopes for more of the same from Garvin all season.
“Myles is a big factor for us on the defensive end, on the glass and on offense as well,” Bossenmeyer said.
Shorts scored the game’s first points on a driving layup and the Tillers kept the lead from there. They had a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and stretched that to an 18-point lead at halftime.
Tustin kept the onslaught going in the third quarter in which they outscored Troy, 22-7.
Shorts got most of his points on drives. He is super-quick and slips around and between defenders easily.
“T.J.’s fun to watch,” Bossenmeyer said. “Any success he has is well-earned. He’s one of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever been around.”
Tustin will play the rest of the season without Alex Lezama, a senior guard who was the Tillers’ defensive most valuable player last season. Lezama suffered an ACL tear during Tustin’s season opener.
Also in the Beach Bash:
Edison 64, California 49: Brae Ivey scored 29 points for the Chargers (4-0).
Corona del Mar 66, Brea Olinda 35: Sam Kobrine scored 15 points and Kevin Fults contributed 12 for the Sea Kings, who had a 35-9 lead at halftime.
In the Santa Ana Valley Tournament:
Calvary Chapel 60, Oxford Academy 46: Aaron Byrne scored 23 points and Cobi Foster added 19 for the Eagles (1-1).
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
