Marina pulls away from Edison

Mike Sciacca, Independent

Despite his team’s 14-2 start to the 1999-2000 boys prep basketball

season, Marina High Coach Roger Holmes said that no game in the Sunset

League would be a breeze.

Well, Holmes proved himself quite the prophet Friday night as visiting

Edison gave the Vikings all they could handle before succumbing, 61-51,

in the league opener for both schools.

Edison (7-7) actually held the lead midway through the third quarter, but

a late spurt put Marina in the lead to stay. The Vikings, however, could

not shake the Chargers.

“We didn’t expect to (shake) them, not with the caliber of teams in this

league,” Holmes said. “Edison played a great game and shot the ball well.

We’ve seen them play maybe five times this season, and that’s the best

I’ve seen them shoot.

“I don’t care that we won 14 games. What we have to do now is bear down

in league play, because one team can beat the other on any given night.”

It appeared that Friday might be Edison’s night as the Chargers came back

from a 28-24 halftime deficit to take their first lead of the game at

31-30 on a Christian Prelle three-point basket 23 seconds into the second

half.

Edison was to lead again at 36-34 on junior Matt Gonzales’ baseline

jumper with 4:49 left in the quarter, but it turned out to be the final

time the Chargers would hold the lead. They did, however, have an

opportunity to build on their advantage after Marina guard Beau Brown had

his shot roll in and out, but on their trip down court, the Chargers gave

the Vikings the ball back on a traveling violation.

That turnover was the catalyst to Marina’s best sequence of the game.

Dustin Kaatz scored on a jumper over Richard Schwartz to tie the game for

Marina and after Schwartz was called for a travel, he fouled Kaatz on the

senior forward’s drive to the basket and Kaatz, who was 12 of 14 from the

foul line overall, hit one of two free throws to give Marina the lead for

keeps, 37-35, with 2:34 to go in the third period.

On Edison’s ensuing inbounds play, Marina’s Justin Maranto came up with a

steal near midcourt and fed Ryan Redmond for a three-point basket.

Redmond later added a free throw, then came up with another steal at

midcourt and this time fed Maranto for an easy lay-in. Maranto’s basket

just did beat the buzzer and capped a 7-0 scoring run by the Vikings, who

ended the quarter with a 43-36 lead.

“I thought we played good defense there toward the end of the third

quarter,” Holmes said. “I really felt that little spurt there at the end

was the difference in the ballgame. It helped us overcome out tightness

at the beginning of the game.”

Edison fought right back, however, in the opening 1:30 of the fourth

quarter. A three-point shot by Gonzales, who finished with 15 points, and

a baseline jumper by Prelle, who led Edison with 18 points, pulled the

Chargers within 43-41.

It was still a four point ballgame midway through the period when Redmond

nailed a key three-point basket to put the Vikings on top, 50-43, and

when Kaatz pulled up and hit a jumper in the key two minutes later,

Marina had a 54-45 lead.

Edison could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way, and two

free throws by Richard Dawson with 58 seconds left gave the Vikings their

first double digit lead of the game, 59-49.

“It was a great game and I’m very proud of the way our kids played,”

Edison Coach Corey Kelly said. “Marina’s got a very good team and Kaatz

is quite a player, but we played them right to the end. It was a great

effort by our guys.”

Kaatz, who came into the contest with a 22.5 scoring average, scored 26

points, and Brown added 12 more to lead Marina.

The Vikings also will be at home next Wednesday (Jan. 12) to host

Fountain Valley, and Edison returns home to host Los Alamitos. Both games

tip off at 7 p.m.