Edison boys' basketball alone in first place after Surf League rout of Newport Harbor

Edison’s Jackie Kwok (4) drives past Newport Harbor’s Ryan Miller and scores a layup during a Surf League game on Friday in Huntington Beach.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

Jan. 24, 2020 10:18 PM PT

The Edison High boys’ basketball team set the tone from the beginning.

A showdown for first place in the Surf League between the Chargers and Newport Harbor turned into a rout, as Edison continued its recent strong play.

Junior guard Luke Serven scored 19 points and junior forward Connor Collins added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Edison won 60-43 on Friday night at home.

The Chargers (16-9, 3-0 in league) moved into outright first place of the four-team league halfway through league play. They bolted ahead of the Sailors (20-5, 2-1), who had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

Los Alamitos (1-2 in league) is in third place, with Corona del Mar (0-3) in last. Last year, the four teams finished in a four-way tie for first place at 3-3 in the league, but Edison is out in front this season.

Serven and Collins each had two three-pointers in Edison’s first-quarter barrage against Newport Harbor, and the quarter ended with the Chargers up 19-5. Edison was well on its way to winning its fifth straight game.

Edison’s Bradley Luna drives in for a layup while being defended by Newport Harbor’s Josh Sandy, left, and Robbie Spooner, right, during a Surf League game on Friday.

“People think we like to just shoot a lot of threes,” Edison coach Rich Boyce said. “We do at times, but we pride ourselves on defense and spend a lot of time on that. I thought our kids did everything we asked them to tonight defensively. We have games like that, where we can hold people down. Unfortunately, we have games where we seem to lose it, but they were very focused on defense tonight.

“The first quarter definitely set the tone, and we carried it into the second quarter. They cut it to 10, but we made a couple of layups and extended it out again. That was big for us. They’re so talented and [Sailors coach] Bob [Torribio] does such a nice job with them.”

Junior guard Bradley Luna added nine points for the Chargers, who led by as many as 25 points, at 46-21, midway through the third quarter following a layup by junior guard Jackie Kwok.

The Chargers beat Newport Harbor for the sixth time in their last seven league meetings since the 2016-17 season, and also held the Sailors to their season-low points total. The previous low was in a 58-46 loss to Century on Dec. 26.

Senior forward Nick Silva led the Sailors with 10 points, and senior guard Ryan Miller scored nine points.

“We’re having a hard time scoring right now, and Edison is not,” Torribio said. “We were definitely not sharp tonight, but that had a lot to do with them and their ability to play basketball. They’re well-coached, and have six or seven guys that can all play and they play well together. They’re playing very well right now. If you’re not going to defend, they’re going to make you pay. And if you don’t score at the other end, you’re going to get doubled up real quick.”

The Sailors have a quick turnaround as they play at Los Alamitos on Monday. The game was rescheduled due to Newport Harbor having its winter formal dance on Jan. 31, Torribio said.

Edison hosts Los Alamitos on Wednesday.

“We’re going to enjoy this, but we know it’s going to be a war when we go back there [to Newport Harbor in the league finale Feb. 5],” Boyce said. “They’re going to watch us on tape a million times and be ready for us, and hopefully we can keep up what we’re doing.”