TUSTIN – Playing basketball against Tustin’s T.J. Shorts must make the sport incrementally less fun.
The Tillers’ 5-foot-9 point guard has lightning in his hands and bad intentions in his heart. His play defensively regularly leads to easy baskets on the other end, and Tustin is at its best offensively with Shorts leading fast breaks and improvising in the open court.
Shorts led all scorers Tuesday with 13 points, as host Tustin beat Western, 55-39, in the Empire League opener for both teams.
“Coach (Ringo Bosenmeyer) wants me to come out and look for ways to get going, to establish the tempo,” said Shorts, who finished with five steals and a number of assists. “Whether that’s picking up full court, creating turnovers or attacking the basket, I do what I can to help the team.”
Tustin (13-2, 1-0) seized control early, scoring six consecutive points off three Western turnovers. George Wilson hit a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, and the Tillers led, 14-7.
Four players contributed to Tustin’s ensuing 9-4 run, and it was Shorts’ active hands and playmaking that put the game away in the third quarter. Tustin scored on eight straight possessions and cruised to victory.
“Western was the league champ last year,” said Tustin’s Eian Labastida, who finished with nine points off the bench. “They took something from us, and we want it back.”
Bosenmeyer said his team didn’t come out with the same pop it had last week against rival Foothill. The Tillers need that intensity to regain league supremacy, especially with Valencia and Cypress in the hunt.
“Western plays as hard as any team in the county,” Bosenmeyer said. “We played well in spurts, and I liked the consistency of our effort, but our overall performance wasn’t what we expect. But we’ll learn from this and get ready for Friday.”
Sunny Garcia finished with 11 points for Western (13-4, 0-1).
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
