CdM survives Barons�
scare
BASKETBALL:
Sea Kings outscore
By David Carrillo Pe�aloza
Every player Corona del Mar High defended seemed to give up the basketball.
Back and forth they passed the ball as often as it takes a soccer team to
produce a quality scoring opportunity. A maddening situation for the Sea Kings,
knowing the Barons planned to limit their possessions.
In CdM�s way of getting past a pesky opponent in the
quarterfinals of the La Quinta Tournament was a jam
Wednesday.
The tempo caused both teams to combine for 31 points at halftime. The Sea Kings
scored more by themselves in the first half of their season opener. When the
Barons played defense, they crowded the middle, taking CdM
6-foot-9 center Stefan Kaluz out of the game.
Adam Brakeville had enough as he sparked CdM at the start of the second half. The new Sea King went
on his own 7-0 run, matching the team�s first-quarter output in a little more
than a minute�s time to give CdM a cushion en route
to a 48-39 victory at La Quinta High.
�Without him we�d be in serious trouble,� said CdM
Coach Ryan Schachter of the 6-6 Brakeville,
who finished with nine points. �No one really brought their A game. It was very
ugly.�
So repulsive that
O�Keefe played a major part in that by scoring a team-high 12 points. No other
player scored in double figures for
�They were getting mad at each other,� said O�Keefe, who made five of eight
shots from the floor. �They�re just tall. The fact that they won CIF last year,
I don�t really look at that [as something intimidating].�
The Sea Kings (2-0) looked nothing like title contenders, even in the 16-team
tournament to Schachter. He�ll take an ugly win as
the Sea Kings advance to play
But Schachter said if the Sea Kings shoot 25% percent
from the floor like they did in the first half Wednesday, the game matching up
the defending Pacific Coast League champ against the defending Sea View League
champ won�t be close.
Most of all the outside shots against
Kaluz didn�t see it much in the second quarter, where
he attempted only one field goal. In the third quarter, after seeing teammates
struggle from behind the three-point line, going three of 15 at the time, Kaluz knocked down a three-pointer near the bench to give CdM a 26-21 lead with 3:20 left.
Then Kaluz began to get involved in another way a big
man should � rebounding. He recorded his first board
in the game with 29 seconds left in the third. It came on his own miss,
allowing the Sea Kings to extend their lead to nine points during a 6-0 run to
close out the quarter.
�It wasn�t a very pretty game,� said Kaluz, who led CdM with 15 points and added three blocks and three
rebounds, the latter number is his lowest since he grabbed three as a sophomore
in a win over Tesoro on Jan. 11, 2006. �I need to
play better.�
The entire team needs to if you ask 6-6 small forward Joe Eberhard,
especially when it gets physical. Eberhard, who
finished with nine points, led the team with six rebounds as CdM barely won the rebound battle against the smaller
Barons, 22-21.
The Sea Kings missed several opportunities to convert baskets when the Barons
hit them in the act of shooting. The referees allowed the teams to play, as the
first free-throw attempt came at the 6:06 mark in the fourth.
�We got to make that adjustment,� Schachter said.
�Too many [easy] shots missed, we got to finish with contact. We got a lot of
work to do [today] in practice and talk about what our goals are. We got to
bring it on Friday, or it could get ugly.�
La Quinta Tournament
Quarterfinal
Corona del Mar 48,
Fountain Valley 39
SCORE BY QUARTERS
FV � O�Keefe 12, Pepper 7, Lee 6, Marquez 6, Swartz 4, Camarena 2, James 2.
3-pt. goals � O�Keefe 2, Pepper 1.
CdM
� Kaluz 15, Brakeville
9, Eberhard 9, Gallian 5,
Donovan 5, Ragsdale 3, E. Rask 2.
3-pt. goals � Ragsdale 1, Kaluz 1, Eberhard 1, Brakeville 1, Donovan
1.
Technicals
- None.