CdM joins party

Patrick Laverty

Ryan Curry, the Corona del Mar High boys basketball coach, checked

the CIF Southern Section website early Sunday and confirmed that his

Sea Kings would join the other three Newport-Mesa district schools in

the 2004 CIF Southern Section boys basketball playoffs.

Corona del Mar, as expected, was awarded an at-large berth into

the Division III-A playoffs, joining Costa Mesa and Estancia, which

earned automatic berths by finishing among the top four teams in the

Golden West League. All three teams will be on the road in the first

round on Wednesday.

Newport Harbor High, which earned an automatic berth by finishing

third in the Sea View League, will begin play in Division II-AA

Wednesday, playing host to a wild-card game against Edison, an

at-large entrant from the Sunset League.

The Sea Kings (13-13) were one of numerous teams throughout the 10

divisions that earned an at-large berth, for which at least 11

victories are required. In recent seasons, any team with 11 or more

wins that petitioned for entry into the playoffs has made the

postseason and this year was no different.

But that didn’t prevent Curry from immediately checking the

at-large entrants, which were posted on the CIF Southern Section

website at 11:30 a.m.

“Step one, as an at-large team, you hope to get in,” Curry said.

“Once you solve that problem, then you start worrying about who

you’re going to play.”

Corona del Mar will face De Anza League champion Vista Del Lago

(18-5), a new school without seniors in Moreno Valley.

Curry knew little about his first-round opponent and hoped it

would be that way.

“I hoped we’d see a team that didn’t know anything about us,”

Curry said.

The Sea Kings are led by the senior guard trio of Pancho Seaborn

(16.4 points per game), Jay Northridge (13.4 ppg) and Adam Freede

(9.8 ppg). If they defeat Vista Del Lago, which is led by 5-foot-9

junior guard John Green (18.4 ppg), they would likely meet No.

4-seeded La Canada (24-2) in a second-round game that would be played

at Corona del Mar.

Costa Mesa (17-9) travels to Colony of Ontario, also a new school

that does not yet have seniors, Wednesday for a first-round game. The

Mustangs, who finished third in the Golden West League, will not have

to play a first-place team in either the first or second rounds.

Colony (13-14) tied for second place in the Mount Baldy League.

Possible second-round opponents for the Mustangs include Marshall

(18-6, second place in the Delphic League) and Nordhoff (9-16, third

place in the Frontier League).

The Mustangs, who have never won a CIF playoff game, enter the

postseason having won seven of their last nine. Sophomore Scott Knox,

who set a Newport-Mesa record with 10 three-pointers in a victory

over Santa Ana Friday, averages 15.7 points and has made at least one

three-pointer in all 26 games. Junior forward Jeff Waldron averages

13.7 points and double figures in rebounds.

“Their team’s young, we’re young, we play a little bit of

contrasting styles,” Mesa Coach Bob Serven said. “But at some point

in the playoffs, you’re going to have to win games on the road.”

Estancia (13-13), which split two games with the Mustangs this

year and finished fourth in the Golden West League, drew Orange

Lutheran in the first round. The Lancers (19-5) finished second in

the Empire League.

“We knew it would be somebody decent,” Eagles Coach Russell King

said.

Orange Lutheran, ranked sixth in the division in the final CIF

Southern Section poll, has seven players 6-5 or taller, including

leading scorers Travis Pinick and Sean Luecke. Estancia’s height

comes mostly from 6-5 senior center Scott Sankey and 6-3 junior guard

Carlos Pinto, who leads the team with an average of 18 points per

contest.

In Division II-AA, Newport Harbor (14-11) will compete in one of

11 wild-card games Wednesday against Edison (12-10).

Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst played and coached at Edison,

which is now coached by former Estancia head man Rich Boyce.

“I thought being the No. 3 team out of our league, we weren’t

going to have to play a wild-card game, that we’d have a first-round

game Friday,” Hirst said. “But maybe there’s an advantage to keeping

the kids in the flow of things. We’ll stay on the Wednesday-Friday

schedule. If your first game isn’t until Friday, that’s a long

layoff.”

By playing a wild-card game, the Sailors also received a home game

and, at least height-wise, Harbor should match up well against the

Chargers. Edison has no player taller than 6-3 on the roster and

seven of their 13 players are shorter than 6-0.

“They shoot the ball well, they’re kind of small and, of course,

they’re well-coached,” Hirst said.

The Sailors, who lost 6-8 center Jamie Diefenbach to a knee injury

earlier this season, are led by 6-3 junior Taylor Young (13.4 ppg). A

win would pit the Tars against Tesoro (20-6) in Friday’s first round.