By Jenny Tran
In an intense, back-and-forth game against the Edison Chargers, the boys’ basketball team came out victorious with a final score of 57-53.
Edison advanced to the second round of CIF State Division V last year, in which they narrowly lost to Orange Lutheran by one point. On Wednesday night, the Barons entered the court anticipating a tough match against the previous league champions.
But with phenomenal plays and successful goals, Fountain Valley managed to secure the win an hour later. Junior Aaron Desantiago and senior Parker Rodriguez were strong on the offensive end, Desantiago with 22 points and Rodriguez with 15. Senior Colin Risse also procured the ball several times through his quick steals.
And when asked about their goals coming into the game, Rodriguez, who ended the game with six three-pointers under his belt, had a straightforward answer.
“Just beating Edison,” he said. “Beating Edison. That’s it.”
With packed stands and energetic tension buzzing in the air, the game was aggressive from the get-go. Edison began the scoring with a two-pointer, to which Risse quickly responded with two points for the Barons. The first few minutes were defined by a succession of fouls and falls, both teams surging through an already heated fight.
At three minutes and 45 seconds, Edison called for a time-out. Thirty seconds after, senior Troy Leach closed the point gap with a fadeaway two-pointer shot, pushing the Barons to 6-7. Edison didn’t back down though, following with a three-pointer as well as a successful breakaway coupled with a layup.
The first quarter ended 6-14 in favor of Edison, the ball bouncing off the rim of the Baron’s basket as the buzzer sounded.
Fountain Valley won the second tip-off. About two-and-a-half minutes into the period, Desantiago made a three-pointer at the free-throw line. Rodriguez quickly followed with his first points of the night with a three-pointer, helping bridge the point gap.
Risse made a breakaway at around the midpoint of the period and then passed the ball to Desantiago, who scored two more points. The guard continued his point streak with another two-pointer inside the key as well as two successful free throws, pushing the Barons ahead 21-16 at four minutes and 24 seconds.
“I’d say I played pretty good on offense,” Desantiago said about his performance.
The final few minutes before halftime were intense; both teams kept scoring one after the other, hot on each others’ tails. Desantiago slipped in a couple more shots and Rodriguez piled up two more three-pointers. After a desperate scuffle for the ball with bodies writhing on the floor, Edison called for a time-out with 28.6 seconds left.
The second quarter ended 30-25, with the Barons now ahead.
“Colin had a really nice block into a transition where Aaron had the [shot],” Rodriguez said. “And I liked shooting all my threes and all that.”
Edison gained possession of the ball at the start of the third quarter. Risse fended off an attempted shot, but Edison still managed to put in a three-pointer two minutes in. Rodriguez made his fourth three-pointer of the night seconds after, extending their lead again.
After a ricochet of passes between the Chargers, they tied it up at 34 points each at four minutes and 30 seconds. Rodriguez managed to push the Barons ahead once again with another three points. And after, on an impressive fast break after stealing the ball, Risse pushed hard into Edison’s territory and landed a layup.
At the very last second, Rodriguez landed yet another three-pointer, ending the quarter 44-39.
A mere 16 seconds into the last quarter, Edison made a free throw on a foul. Risse rebounded a failed shot from a Charger and assisted the ball to junior Devin Payne, who made a two-pointer.
“I thought my offensive performance was pretty [mediocre], but I tried to make it up on defense,” Risse said. “But our other players made it up on offense, so it was good.”
With four minutes to go, Senior Portland Sydney made an inside shot, followed by a layup from Payne. Edison had near successes in trying to close the now nine-point gap, with the ball repeatedly brushing against the brim.
Coming into the last minute, Edison did come close with a two-pointer that pushed them 53-50. The final seconds were ironically slow for the stakes at hand, with both teams continuously requesting time-outs and players being called out for fouls.
But with Payne securing two free throws and Desantiago with a final two-pointer, the Barons brought home the win with a final score of 57-53.
“I feel like I did pretty good. We all shot well,” Rodriguez said. “It was my first time beating Edison on the Varsity team…Everyone played defense, we executed our zone well. We did very good.”
After an exhilarating celebration succeeding an equally exciting game, the team holds high hopes of beating the Chargers again when they play against them on Jan. 26, this time on Edison’s court.
“We’re ready for Edison next game,” Desantiago said.
