Tustin battles to the end but Cajon prevails 58-53 in semifinals of holiday classic

Kyan Patel of Tustin (left) and Shyheim Parm of Cajon get ready to dive for a loose ball Saturday. No. 3 is Bradley Burdick. (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Tustin’s boys basketball team gave Cajon all it could handle Saturday night in the semifinals of the Tustin Holiday Classic.

But Cajon was able to make the big plays in the final minutes and capture a 58-53 victory to advance into the championship game Monday night at 7:30 against Mission Viejo.

“The unforced errors we committed in the first half were uncharacteristic of how we’ve been taking care of the ball so far this season,” said Tustin Coach Ringo Bossenmeyer. “However, we showed the type of assertive and aggressive mindset in the second half that we have been looking for as a coaching staff.

“I’m proud of our effort and togetherness throughout the game against a talented and athletic Cajon team.”

Ben Ahinaquah led Tustin with 17 points. Bradley Burdick had 11 points and Jason Naranjo 10 points for the Tillers.

Cajon was led by Riley Robinson, who scored 22 points and Shyheim Parm, who had 19 points.

Tustin led 7-6 after one quarter but Cajon moved out to a 19-16 halftime lead.

Cajon led 40-33 after three quarters and appeared on the verge of breaking the game open.

But Tustin kept hanging around and battled back, cutting the lead to 55-53 on a basket by Ahinaquah with 20 seconds left.

Trailing by three points with about 10 seconds remaining, the Tillers had a chance to tie it but Cajon stole the ball then finished by making two free throws.

Tustin will meet Tesoro in the third place game Monday at 6 p.m.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com