SUNSET LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Ocean View Squanders Late Opportunities, Loses to Edison

There were moments Friday night when it seemed neither Ocean View nor Edison wanted to win. There were moments when both teams did their darndest to provide opportunities.

Finally, after trading missteps, Ocean View seized the moment--and lost.

To be sure, Edison will take the 58-54 Sunset League victory at Ocean View, but the Chargers probably won’t be bragging about it. They squandered nearly all of a nine-point, fourth-quarter lead and gave the Seahawks two chances to tie the score in the final two minutes.

Yet they survived and managed to find something positive about it.

“The kids played hard,” Edison Coach Jon Borchert said.

Brandon Jessie had 24 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals.

However, he also dribbled the ball off his foot--with no one guarding him. The turnover gave Ocean View a chance to tie the score with 2 minutes 4 seconds left trailing, 54-52.

The Seahawks (8-7, 0-2) called timeout to set up a play. But instead of working for a high-percentage shot, Brian Knox immediately fired a three-pointer that missed badly.

Ocean View had one other opportunity, after forcing a turnover with 20 seconds left. However, guard Jim Harris gave it back seconds later and the Chargers led, 56-54.

Jessie finally clinched the game with two free throws that gave the Chargers (8-5, 1-0) a 58-54 lead with 17 seconds left.

“This is a tough place to come into and win,” Jessie said.

Jessie tried to control the game from the start, to the point of nearly ignoring his teammates.

The Seahawks double-teamed him and, on one occasion, Jessie had five players surround him. Jessie dribbled and shot anyway. He touched the ball on the offensive end 14 times in the second half and passed twice.

Still, the Seahawks’ overplaying defense finally caught up with them. John Khamis scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Chargers built a 51-42 lead.

The Seahawks stayed close by shooting three-point field goals, which they relied on heavily. They made 10 of 24 three-pointers.

“Sometimes you can live by that and sometimes you die,” Coach Jim Harris said.

In other league games:

Fountain Valley 64, Westminster 42--Chris Rieff scored 23 points and Jeff Bigler had 11 points and seven rebounds for visiting Fountain Valley.

Marina 63, Huntington Beach 44--Marina (10-6, 2-0) made seven of eight three-point shots in the first half. Huntington Beach (8-7, 1-1) made only 16 of 65 shots