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Edison boys basketball takes another big step in playoffs with win over Birmingham

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HUNTINGTON BEACH >> Two days after securing its first victory in the CIF state playoffs, the Edison boys basketball team showed no signs of slowing down.

The Chargers used a 17-2 run in the third quarter Thursday that helped them defeat Birmingham 59-51 at Edison High in the second round of the CIF SoCal Division II regional playoffs.

Edison (28-5) will be on the road Saturday night to play Los Altos in the regional semifinals.

Senior forward Tyler Hampton scored a game-high 23 points for the Chargers, and senior Trey Wilborn added 17 points, nine of those coming in the pivotal third quarter.

Edison coach Rich Boyce was not surprised to see Hampton and Wilborn lead the way again.

“Obviously those two are our leaders, our two scoring leaders,” Boyce said. “When we needed something, they both stepped up, so that’s what you expect out of those two. They’ve done it all year long, so I knew they’d make plays and they certainly did.”

Larry Olayinka, who is 6-foot-8, had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Birmingham. Kory Blunt also had 16 points for the Patriots, who were L.A. City Section Open Division semifinalists.

After the Patriots (18-9) opened the second half with a 6-0 run to go up 35-28, Boyce used a timeout. During the break, he told his team to get back to playing defense.

“I think they (Birmingham) only scored two points in the next six minutes,” he said. “So our defense was solid and we kept doing what we were supposed to do. We told them to execute.”

Wilborn started to heat up by making a jumper, and that was followed by a basket from Dylan Hugues. A few possessions later, Wilborn had a chance at a 3-point play but missed the free throw. Hampton was there to grab the miss and scored on a putback to give Edison a 36-35 lead.

Larry Olayinka responded with a basket for Birmingham to retake the lead 37-36, but that was short lived as the Chargers’ defensive intensity ramped up and was paired with their ability to knock down shots.

Wilborn drilled a 3-pointer to give Edison a 39-37 lead and then scored on his next time down the floor. Hugues and Hampton each added a basket before the third quarter ended with Edison ahead 45-37.

The Patriots tried to mount a comeback but a pair of 3s by Hampton kept Birmingham at bay in the fourth. Tyson Jackson (11 points) made a midrange jumper that brought the Patriots within six, but then Hampton made his first shot from beyond the arc to push the Chargers’ lead back to nine points.

After Olayinka made one of two free throws to make it a seven-point game, Hampton responded with another 3-pointer for a 53-43 lead with under four minutes left to play.

“We’re pretty tested at the end of games, we make good plays” Boyce said. “Tyler (Hampton) hit two big 3s for us, those were huge and we then we just hung on. It was just an exceptional win for us.”

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Boyce did not want to look ahead to the semifinals against the Conquerors and 7-foot junior Jazz Gardner; he wanted to relish the moment after the victory.

“Right now I’m not thinking about it,” he said. “I’m just thinking about what we did tonight because I don’t think any Edison team has ever gone this far, so we want to celebrate that.”

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