CdM dominates PCL opener

CORONA DEL MAR — Senior guard Kirk MacDonald hit a jumper for his first points of the season, then dived on the ground at mid-court for a steal.

The ball was then worked around to junior guard Joey Jones, who buried a three-pointer.

Not a typical sequence for the Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball team, but it was one that produced smiles on the Sea Kings’ bench Wednesday night. The fact that everyone on the team got to play meant CdM was on its way to a comfortable victory over Beckman, 65-40, to open Pacific Coast League play.

Senior center Stefan Kaluz, the reigning CIF Southern Section Division III-A Player of the Year, scored a team-high 13 for CdM and added seven rebounds and three blocks. But on a night where 11 different Sea Kings players scored, Kaluz didn’t exactly have to be the focal point of the offense, and he was OK with that.

“It was great to see everybody get to play,” Kaluz said. “We have 16 guys on the team, and everybody works really hard. But you can only play five players at a time, and most teams have just a seven- or eight-man rotation. It’s tough to see all those guys working hard and not get the chance.”

Beckman (7-9) won the game’s opening tip, but nearly everything else in the first quarter went the way of the defending CIF champion and league co-champion Sea Kings (11-5). CdM, utilizing a full-court press, forced the Patriots into nine first-quarter turnovers on its way to a 21-7 lead, after a three-pointer from senior guard Andy Rovzar.

Senior guard Erik Rask and junior forward Sean Donovan, who each had four steals, were especially effective at swiping the ball.

“We’ve been working on our press a lot,” CdM Coach Ryan Schachter said. “We’ve got some long guys who are fast and athletic, and we’re trying to utilize that. It just makes us play harder when we know we’re playing the full length of the court.”

Senior forward Joe Eberhard had nine points and eight rebounds, all in the first half. His drive to the bucket with five seconds left before halftime gave CdM its 43-17 advantage at the half.

Donovan said it was important for the Sea Kings not to come out soft in their league opener, even against a Patriots team that CdM outscored by a combined total of 139-53 in their two league meetings last season.

“We wanted to come out and just set the tone for the rest of the game, play with a lot of energy,” said Donovan, who added 11 points. “We felt we could do that with the press, so we took advantage.”

But the Sea Kings were actually outscored in the second half by the overmatched Beckman squad. Schachter, who said the second half was “jungle ball,” wasn’t necessarily happy about that.

“I thought our first half was 10 times better than our second half,” Schachter said. “We just got a little sloppy in the second half, but it was kind of what we thought it was going to be. For us, the key was going to be to make sure we came out with a sense of urgency and played to our level.

“We’ve talked about it all year, it’s not who we’re playing. It’s how we play. Whether it’s Beckman or Santa Margarita or Los Al, we have to go out there and compete. We’re trying to get better; we’re not just trying to beat our opponent.”

Freshman guard Clayton Ragsdale had eight points for the Sea Kings, who play Friday at home against Laguna Hills. The Hawks were the only team to beat CdM in league last season, 64-63, a game in which Kaluz was ejected.

That loss was the reason CdM was co-league champion last season.

“We definitely remember that loss,” Donovan said. “That was a big growing point for us; everyone still talks about that a lot. We definitely want to establish ourselves as Pacific Coast League champions, not co-champions. We should come out and send a message [Friday], but it’s going to be a tough game. We’ll be ready.”

Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 65, Beckman 40

SCORE BY QUARTERS

B – Im 6, Nathan 6, Lay 6, Bender 6, Arios 5, Ives 5, Cortez 3, Henderson 2, Arambulo 1.

3-pt. goals – Arios 1, Cortez 1, Ives 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

CdM – Kaluz 13, Donovan 11, Eberhard 9, Ragsdale 8, Brakeville 5, Jones 5, E. Rask 4, Gallian 4, Rovzar 3, K. MacDonald 2, Meshkin 1.

3-pt. goals – Rovzar 1, Donovan 1, Brakeville 1, Jones 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].