Swoosh! Pearson nails floater at buzzer as Crusaders win opening game at Nike Invite.

From a broken thumb to a busted play, Michael Pearson has experienced it all in the first two weeks of the high school basketball season.

The Modesto Christian sophomore was doubtful to start the season with a broken left thumb, but he recovered in time to lift the Crusaders to a 64-62 victory over Edison of Fresno in Tuesday's opening game of the Clovis West Nike Invitational.

Pearson had a team-high 18 points, including the floater at the buzzer to rescue Modesto Christian from a second-half malaise. The Crusaders led by nine points at the intermission, but had trouble pulling away from Edison (3-4).

Asrin Hackett and James Hannah fueled the Tigers' charge. Hackett had a game-high 23 points and was 5 of 10 from beyond the 3-point line, while Hannah had 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

"We didn't play well," Modesto Christian coach Brice Fantazia said. "We had a sluggish start. It had been 10 days since our last game, so we seemed sluggish. Our conditioning wasn't up to point."

The Crusaders (2-0), who opened the season with a 72-65 victory over Saint Francis of Mountain View at the inaugural Gary Porter Showcase on Dec. 2, saved the win with heroics at both ends of the floor.

Junior Aaron Murphy, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, made a defensive stop at the rim, keeping the game tied at 62-62. Modesto Christian collected the rebound and called a timeout with 9 seconds left.

In the huddle, Fantazia drew up his best play.

However, Edison forced Modesto Christian to abandon that plan. So Pearson improvised, driving into the lane for the game-winning bucket.

"Mike just made a play," Fantazia said. "I had a college coach tell me he's the best sophomore guard he's seen in Northern California. That speaks to the level he's playing at right now."

Dathan Satchell and Tsotne Tsardsidse had 15 points apiece for the Crusaders, who wrap up pool play against Liberty of Bakersfield on Thursday.The Patriots are led by junior Isaiah Hill, who holds at least one offer from the University of the Pacific.

The 6-foot-8 Tsardsidse also had seven rebounds. The Georgian native's presence and production was pivotal. Senior center Gabe Murphy played just four minutes after experiencing back spasms.

"Edison is good. They're long and athletic, and they sit in a match-up zone which is tough early in the year," Fantazia said. "For our guys, we're still pretty young. We only had one senior (Tyler Williams). Every game is going to be a learning process for our guys. People don't understand how young we are still."

Modesto Christian has just three seniors on its roster, and only two are eligible: Williams and Murphy. The other, Lathrop transfer Junior Ballard, must sit out the first 30 days of the season.

That's why Fantazia believes this holiday stretch, which also includes the team's Holiday Hoops Classic beginning Dec. 27, is a pivotal one for a program battling youth, continuity issues and heavy expectations.

"We have to get a little tougher," he said. "We have these letdowns, where we relax and we think we're the better team so we won't play hard for one possession. That's all it takes for a team to gain confidence. We have to learn to put our foot down, get consecutive stops and then push the lead."

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Swoosh! Pearson nails floater at buzzer as Crusaders win opening game at Nike Invite.."