With win table set for CdM

WILDOMAR — Close to the bench, Sean Donovan already knew what he’d hear next from Corona del Mar High Coach Ryan Schachter if he were wide-open.

Shoot the ball!

The sophomore guard has heard his coach yell it constantly, in practice, in games, whenever he’s behind the three-point line alone with the basketball in his hands.

So when Donovan touched the ball after the inbound pass with CdM up two points late in the CIF Southern Section Division III-A quarterfinals at Elsinore, Schachter screamed at Donovan.

Shoot the ball!

Encouraged to shoot with defenders swarming 6-foot-9 center Stefan Kaluz and 6-7 forward John Joyce, Donovan did just that with 1 minute, 21 seconds left.

Donovan made the biggest shot, a three-pointer, allowing the fourth-seeded Sea Kings to hold on and beat Elsinore, 65-58, and advance to the semifinals.

“It just happened they left me open because I was missing the rest of [my shots],” said Donovan, who finished with five points on two-for-six shooting. “[Coach] tells me to shoot a lot. I get yelled at practice for not shooting, so I just decided to shoot that one.”

Donovan’s only three-pointer gave CdM (20-7) a big enough cushion and an opportunity to play No. 9 West Valley (20-9) in the semifinals on Friday. West Valley beat No. 1 Serrano, 91-87, to advance from its quarterfinal game.

The game determining which team reaches the finals at the Honda Center will be played at a neutral site of CdM’s choosing because West Valley has played host to two playoff games.

Before the quarterfinals, Schachter hinted that he’d like the semifinal game to be at either his alma mater University in Irvine, or Estancia, because as he put it, his players are familiar with both gyms.

Wherever CdM plays, it appears as the favorite now with Serrano (24-4) out. In his first year at CdM, Schachter smiled about that notion.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” Schachter said. “We just have to go inside, regardless of who we play. I don’t think any team can matchup with our height.”

Elsinore (15-14) learned that through warm-ups, as Coach Pete Rettinger and his players marveled at CdM’ssize.

None of the Tigers’ starters were taller than 6-3, and Kaluz and Joyce took advantage when it came to rebounding. So did 6-5 guard Joe Eberhard.

Kaluz finished with a game-high 19 points, most coming on put-backs. He grabbed 11 rebounds, but Joyce’s 19 rebounds (eight offensive) led everyone. Eberhard added 15 points and eight rebounds.

The size was too much to handle for Elsinore, a fourth-place at-large team from the Sunbelt League

“They brought us back [down to earth],” said Elsinore guard Scotty Buck, who finished with 16 points. “We could’ve beat that team.”

Elsinore was in the game, mostly because of it hitting nine three-pointers. But the biggest three-pointer would come with CdM up, 54-52, and when Donovan touched the ball.

Concerned about CdM’s big men, Donovan saw no defender near him, and he knew what came next: Schachter shouting him at him to shoot the ball.

“Glad he made it,” Schachter said.

CIF Southern SectionQuarterfinal

Division III-A Playoffs

Corona del Mar 65,

Elsinor 58

Score by Quarters

CdM 14 15 16 20 — 65

Elsinore 8 18 15 17 — 58

Corona del Mar -- Kaluz 19, Eberhard 15, Lane 9, Joyce 8, Evett 7, Donovan 5, Meshkin 2.

3-pt. goals -- Donovan 1, Evett 1.

Elsinore -- Buck 16, Pearson 12, Kaplan 11, Lewis 7, Horton 7, Davis 3, Waber 2.

3-pt. goals -- Buck 3, Pearson 3, Kaplan 2, Horton 1.

Technicals -- Davis.