Edison banks on D-I boys crown

Buzzer-beating bank shot lifts Tigers past Central.

Published online on Sunday, Mar. 08, 2009

They arrived from Fresno's west side for what was expected to be a shootout Saturday night at Selland Arena.

It was more than that, decided on the game's final shot, and what a shot it was -- an 8-foot bank at the buzzer by Nat Harrison off Jameal York's inbounds feed as Edison High defeated Central 66-65 for the Central Section's Division I boys championship.

In the end, hardly a fan among 5,000 remained seated as York -- with but 0.5 seconds showing on the clock -- lobbed high to Harrison, who leaped, caught and released in one motion from a left angle to close what has to go down as one of the most electrifying finals since they began in 1914.

Harrison, a non-starter, had his number called because Tigers 6-foot-7 center Steve McClellan had fouled out with 1:16 remaining.

"The play was called for me and I was like, 'oh man, let's go, I guess it's for me, I gotta handle it," said Harrison, who displayed the type of athletic ability that inspired Fresno State coach Pat Hill to sign him to a football scholarship.

"If we missed [the last-second shot], I would have been comfortable with it because it was a good look on the last shot of the game," Edison coach Arturo Ormond said. "We had the right guy passing, the right guy screening [in Chris Fields] and the right guy finishing.

And the Tigers had the right fortune, the clock failing to expire by a tick after York had penetrating the key and lost control, with the ball trickling out of bounds after a mass scramble.

"Oh my goodness," Ormond said. "The horn could have easily gone off.

"If you paid to get in, you got your money's worth."

York scored 15 points, Isaiah Gossett 13, Shawn Thomas 12 and McClellan 11 for Edison (25-6), which captured its 21st section title. With 19 banners on its gymnasium wall, the school has some decorating catch up, including one for last season's D-II championship.

First in order, however, will be a home-court Southern California Regional game Tuesday against an opponent that will be determined today. Central (22-8) will travel for a Regional contest Monday.

Alton Williams scored 19 points, Rakim Brown had 18, Amit Dhillon 13 and Jarred White 11, including two free throws that gave the Grizzlies a 65-64 lead with 8.7 seconds remaining.

This occurred two months after White, a sophomore guard, beat the Tigers 66-65 with two free throws with 2 seconds remaining in a nonleague game at Central.

The Grizzlies, seeking their first large schools crown after winning two D-III titles in the 1990s, took a 63-61 lead on Williams' 3-pointer with 24.4 seconds to go.

Then, in the game's 15th lead change, the Tigers responded with a Gossett 3-pointer for a 64-63 advantage with 12.4 seconds showing.

"I'd do it all over again," Central coach Loren LeBeau said. "What a great life lesson: Invest in something, give it all your heart, give it a glorious effort and be proud at the end of the day. And, I'll tell you what, we've got a proud locker room -- broken hearts, but we live for another day."

The contest closed a six-game day that drew 6,100 in paid attendance -- a record for the five-year event. More than 6,800, including those arriving with complimentary passes, were present Saturday. Two-day paid attendance was around 9,000.

A full-throttle first half saw 12 lead changes and Edison taking a 37-34 lead.

The difference was the Tigers making 8 of 18 3-pointers compared with Central's 3 of 12. Edison finished with 12 of 28 3-pointers compared with the Grizzlies' 5 of 18.

The surprise was provided by Thomas, a sophomore forward, who came off the bench to score all of his points on 4-of-7 shooting behind the arc in the first half.

The half staged an entertaining duel of point guards wearing jersey Nos. 0 -- York (11 points, two assists) and Williams (13 points).