CdM gets blowout win
BASKETBALL:
Kaluz scores a game-high 29 on 14-of-18 shooting, and
defense stops
By David Carrillo Pe�aloza
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Clayton Ragsdale wanted out of the Sea Kings� opening-round game of the La Quinta Tournament. Schachter,
surprised, yelled out, �Give me two more minutes, that�s all that�s left.�
Ragsdale slowly walked over to the bench. He did his part to stop
Schachter called on his starting point guard, Erik Rask, with CdM on its way to an
87-59 blowout victory against
Rask didn�t mind being the only starter in the game.
It was the season opener, plus the senior needs the extra minutes to get back
into basketball shape after missing last year due a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee suffered playing
football as a junior.
Rask entered and even though the rust from being away
for so long still showed late, Schachter was just
pleased to see Rask on the court again. Rask figures to be an integral factor in whether the Sea
Kings can repeat as CIF Southern Section Division III-A champions.
�A lot of it is getting him back in the flow and making the right decisions,� Schachter said. �He wasn�t the only one [making mistakes].
We were just kind of putting our head down and trying to get to the rim and
[the Lions] did a great job taking charges.�
Early on, Rask tried to bulldoze his way to the
basket as if he were playing linebacker trying to get to a running back. This
time the player with the ball proved to be elusive in the first quarter for
Adeniyi beat the Sea Kings� defense, scoring 13 of
Then Rask and backup Ragsdale slowed the senior down
with the help of an extra defender, eliminating any chance that a program that
hasn�t made it to the postseason in recent years would pull off the upset. With
Adeniyi forced to give up the ball because, as he put
it, �I didn�t want to be selfish,� CdM appeared on
its way to turning this one into a laugher.
After a jumper 34 seconds into the second quarter, Adeniyi,
who finished with 25, didn�t make another field goal until the 3:03 mark in the
fourth. He went zero for 13 during the stretch, and by then CdM
6-foot-9 center Stefan Kaluz had already toyed with
the smaller Lions.
The Brown University-bound senior finished with a game-high 29 points, 14 rebounds
and two blocks. Kaluz scored 12 points in the third,
when CdM allowed only one field goal en route to
outscoring
�We just put it together,� said Kaluz, last year�s
CIF Southern Section Division III-A Player of the Year, who made 14 of 18 shots
from the field. �It�s really important to get off to a good start. We should
hopefully do some good things this year. We have a lot of great players on the
team and a lot of good talent.
�I was really happy to see everybody get to play.�
Everyone got into the act for the Sea Kings, who will next play on Wednesday at
6:30 p.m. against
For a couple of starters, small forward Joe Eberhard
and shooting guard Sean Donovan, the statistics could�ve been more impressive
if they hadn�t sat the entire fourth. Eberhard
finished with an all-around game: 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Donovan added 11 points and three steals.
Rask contributed four points and distributed the ball
well, allowing the team to get easy shots. So did Ragsdale, who added five
points in his first varsity game.
Ragsdale�s precise pass to a streaking Kaluz down the
baseline that resulted in a two-handed dunk late in the third caused the bench
to explode because the players knew they�d be coming in shortly.
�It�s very nice to be able to look on the bench and I got six guys that I can
plug in and all of them I know are going to play hard and give me quality
minutes,� said Schachter, who has a deeper bench than
a year ago, when CdM went 22-8 and won a share of the
Pacific Coast League title by going 7-1. �I wanted [Ragsdale] to finish it, but
then I asked Erik, �Hey, you want to get in?� Erik said, �Yeah!� Erik wants to
get that [basketball] feeling back.�
La Quinta Tournament First round
Corona del Mar 87, Westminster 59
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CdM � Kaluz
29, Eberhard 17, Donovan 11, Brakeville
5, Ragsdale 5, E. Rask 4, Meshkin
4, Gallian 4, Anand 4,
Alder 3, Jones 1.
3-pt. goals � Alder 1, Donovan 1, Brakeville
1.
Fouled out - None.
Technicals
- None.
W � Adeniyi 25, Garbutt
18, Lykes 10, Garcia 3, Camerena
2, Cruz 1.
3-pt. goals � Adeniyi 2, Garbutt 1, Garcia 1.
Fouled out - None.