Written By: Nathan Nguyen
The first quarter, Edison came out strong with a string of 3 point baskets and solid defense, but as the first half came to a close, the Barons were able to go into the locker room with a one point lead. The rest of the game was a tug of war as neither team lead by more than 5 points in the fourth quarter.
With one minute left in the game and the Barons down by 2, Zack Richartz (’12) nailed a 3 point shot on the left wing to give the Barons a one point edge. Fountain Valley had a foul to give and forced a bad shot from the Chargers and were sent to the line with the opportunity to extend the lead to 3. The Barons had problems converting at the charity stripe the entire game and the struggles continued as Sean Meyers (’12) split a pair of free throws. With the last possession of the game, neither Dreon Barlett nor Corey Foster, the star players of Edison, attemped the last shot.
Fountain Valley double teamed Foster at half court leaving a wide open lane for a layup, but Nathan Moss (’12) helped the weak side and blocked a potential game tying layup. Sean Finley (’13) recovered the ball and was sent to the line with another opportunity for a commanding 4 point lead, but again free throws haunted the barons as he missed the free throw and the Chargers recovered the ball. With 0.9 seconds in the game, the spirit of Tim Donaghy took over the baseline referee’s body and Finley was called for a personal foul in which virtually no contact took place. It was a bonus 1 and 1 situation for the Chargers and the entire loud crowd of Fountain Valley (coming in more numbers than Edison) charged to the other side of the court to heckle and distract the free throw shooter. It worked. The Chargers missed the free throw and the Barons recovered the ball and as time expired Fountain Valley fans stormed the court to congratulate their players. Fountain Valley swept Edison this season and now has a Sunset League record of 4-3. Their next game is against Marina at home on Friday at 7 p.m.
Photographed By: Tyler Rose Ratzlaff
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