Chargers take best shot

T.J. Lipold hit game-winning basket as Edison stuns Los Alamitos, 70-69.As the halftime buzzer sounded and the teams headed toward the locker room, the Los Alamitos Griffins had a spring in their step as they trotted off the court seemingly in control of Friday’s key Sunset League boys’ basketball showdown against Edison.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Griffins looked nothing but stunned.

Edison senior forward/guard T.J. Lipold hit a 12-foot jump shot from the right side of the key with 2 1/2 seconds to play in overtime to give the host Chargers an improbable 70-69 victory.

Lipold, fists clinched, raised his arm triumphantly as the final seconds ticked away.

The loss was first in league play for Los Alamitos, which fell into a tie for first-place with Edison and Esperanza.

Edison came back by boxing out and hitting the boards hard in the second half -- things the Chargers didn’t do in the first two quarters.

They also didn’t yield a field goal to Los Alamitos in either the fourth quarter or overtime, and limited the Griffins to just 11 points in the final 13 minutes of the game.

“Our defense did a tremendous job in the second half and in overtime,” Edison coach Rich Boyce said. “It was solid and we were able to shut them down.

“As for T.J., I’ve seen him make that shot a million times. He was dead on again, and it won the game.”

Lipold, who led Edison with 16 points, launched his game-winning shot over the extended reach of the Griffins’ 6-foot-10 forward Clint Amberry, a transfer from Ocean View, sending it straight through the net.

Edison had closed to within 69-68 when Thomas Marcin scored with 22 seconds left in overtime. Marcin was fouled but couldn’t hit the ensuing free throw. Amberry was fouled on Los Alamitos’ next possession, but the junior missed both foul shots, which set up Edison for one last trip down court.

The Griffins, who didn’t have any timeouts remaining following Lipold’s go-ahead basket, were able to inbound the ball but couldn’t get a shot off.

Edison fans then rushed the court in celebration.

Los Alamitos had settled into a shooting groove in the second quarter, led by returning all-CIF guard Larry Fields and Amberry, and headed into the break with a seemingly safe 42-27 lead.

But backed stormed the Chargers. Slowly.

Edison had dipped into that deficit by only two points by the time the third quarter came to a close, but completed its uphill battle by outscoring the Griffins by 13 points in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers drew even at 63 when guard Denny Reed hit a clutch three-point shot with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.

They outscored the Griffins, 7-6, in overtime.

Edison showed no emotional letdown Monday when it competed at the Martin Luther King Invitational at Century High, as the Chargers rolled past Aliso Niguel, 68-45. Lipold scored 21 points, Tim Golden 14 and Mike Doran 10.

In other boys’ basketball action:

Marina held a four-point halftime lead on first-place Esperanza, but the Aztecs stormed back in the second half to pull away to a 57-42 victory.

The Vikings, who led, 24-20, at the half, were led in scoring by Mike Kinoshita with 16 points and Sean Starkey with 12.

Huntington Beach couldn’t overcome a slow start against Fountain Valley and dropped a 66-56 home game to the Barons.

Nick Becker scored a game-high 22 points and Trevor Carroll had 14 for the Oilers.

In earlier action, Edison ripped rival Fountain Valley, 70-40. Phillip Darin and T.J. Lipold each scored 18 points, and Thomas Marcin 12 for the host Chargers.

Marina held on to defeat visiting Huntington Beach, 51-50. Sean Starkey’s 21 points led the Vikings, and Troy Lewis and Mike Kinoshita each scored 10.

Ocean View ripped visiting Saddleback, 67-34, in Golden West League play. Diego Delgado led the Seahawks, four of whom scored in double figures, with a game-high 16 points. Wynton Johnson had 15 points, Brad Sweezy 11 and Brandon Ishimoto 10.

The Seahawks also picked up a key road victory as they defeated defending league champion Estancia, 44-35. Delgado recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds and also had five assists. Sweezy finished with 10 points and also grabbed 13 rebounds.

In girls’ basketball:

Marina extended its win streak to five games by rallying to defeat host Orange Lutheran, 46-39, in nonleague play. Erin Barney scored 17 points and Lindsey Schulze added 10 as the Vikings outscored the Aztecs, 21-14, in the fourth quarter.

Marina also defeated visiting Esperanza, 50-41, and host Huntington Beach, 46-44, to enter the week undefeated in Sunset League play.

In the win over Huntington, Allison Budzinski scored the final seven points of the first quarter to give Marina the lead for good at 11-9. Budzinski finished with 13 points, and Rachael Maulit had 11 for the Vikings. Rita Sitivi scored 14 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals, and Jasmine Erving had seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Huntington came back from the narrow loss to Marina to rout visiting Fountain Valley, 49-28. Erving had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals; Noe Viloria 11 added points, five rebounds and three steals; and Rebecca Murray had six points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Oilers.

Huntington stepped outside of league play to take on visiting Loara, and the Oilers romped to a 78-39 win. Karissa Plotnik scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals to pace the Oilers.

Edison rolled past host Los Alamitos, 54-38. Wahine Kepilino scored 13 points and had four steals, Kelly Peterson scored 10 points, Loryn Kanemaru had eight rebounds and five points and Victoria Lokhorst had nine rebounds, five points and two steals for the Chargers.

Edison also crushed rival Fountain Valley, 59-32. Simone Ibbotson led the Chargers with 15 points, and Peterson finished with 14.

Ocean View suffered a 58-30 nonleague loss to visiting El Modena. Josnique Thomas led the Seahawks with eight points.