Boys basketball: CdM grounds Eagles’ arsenal

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - Coach Paul Orris’ defensive game plan worked to near

perfection as Corona del Mar High’s boys basketball team suffocated the

Eagles, 60-42, in Friday night’s Pacific Coast League showdown.

“Sometimes your strategies work for you,” Orris said with a sigh

afterward. “We were concerned with Estancia’s quickness and their

off-screen shooting. Our guys did a good job of communicating out there,

letting their teammates know where the shooters were at all times.”

Eagles Coach Rich Boyce just could not find the answers to his team’s

offensive struggles.

“Corona had a great game plan tonight,” Boyce said. “They spread out

their zone defense, which exploited our weakness. We needed to pick up

the slack on the inside, and we just weren’t able to do it.”

CdM senior Kevin Hansen scored 19 points, while Alec Hanson added 11

and Joel Templeton chipped in with 10.

“Once again, our role players stepped up and played huge tonight,”

Orris said. “Guys like Joel, who did a great job in the middle. Estancia

likes to go inside-out and Joel did a good job of preventing that.”

Jon Cantrell and Darshaun Garner each had 16 points for the Eagles

(11-8, 0-3 in league), but it was turnovers and missed opportunities that

hurt Boyce’s club.

“We missed a lot of layups tonight,” he said. “And when you miss

layups and they come right back and nail a three, that’s a huge swing

against us.”

With the game tied early in the second quarter, CdM (13-5, 1-1) turned

three Eagles turnovers into a seven straight points, taking the lead for

good.

Templeton and Hanson combined for 12 of the team’s 14 second-quarter

points as CdM took a 26-20 lead at the half.

Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Laguna Beach two nights ago, the

Eagles appeared to still have moments of numbness in their game, which

cost them dearly in the second half.

“We just seemed lifeless out there,” Boyce said. “Maybe it was from

the Laguna Beach game, I don’t know. I told the guys that we have to

bounce back and I know we will.”

Eric Snell opened the third quarter with five straight points, giving

CdM an 11-point lead.

Taking a page from the Eagles handbook of success, the Sea Kings had

the hot shooting hand, making 6 of their first 8 shots and led by as many

as 15 points in the third.

“Bottom line, Corona del Mar played a great game and we didn’t play a

very good game,” Boyce said.

Estancia got as close as 43-34 but CdM’s patient offense wore down the

Eagles as six different players scored in the fourth quarter.

“Corona is a very patient team,” Boyce said. “They were really working

their offense well against us.”

To add injury to insult, Eagles senior guard Jason Simco went down

with three minutes left in the game with an injured left ankle. His

availability for the Eagles’ next game remains uncertain.

“He said he heard something pop in his ankle, so that’s never good,”

Boyce said. “We’ll know more tomorrow. Hopefully, he’s a quick healer.”

In this crazy Pacific Coast League, both coaches know that each game

is crucial, but they also both agree that it’s still up for grabs.

“I don’t think that any team is going to go undefeated out there,”

Orris said. “Nothing is for certain with this league.”

For Boyce, despite dropping three straight league contests, there’s

still no reason to panic.

“I thought going into this thing that five wins would get you first or

second place,” he said. “Now all I gotta do is find a way to pull out

five wins in a row.”

Next up for the Sea Kings, they travel to University to take on the

Trojans Wednesday, before hosting a crucial contest against Costa Mesa on

Friday. Both games start at 7 p.m.

For the Eagles, they stay in the district taking on Newport Harbor at

home in a nonleague matchup, Wednesday at 7 p.m. before resuming their

league schedule against University on the road Friday at 7 p.m.PACIFIC

COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 60, Estancia 42

Corona del Mar 12 14 17 17 - 60 Estancia 11 9 12 10 - 42

Corona del Mar - Hansen 19, Hanson 11, Templeton 10, Snell 9, Hietbrink

5, Patterson 5, Shahangian 1, Owen 0, Bottom 0.

3 pt. goals - Hansen 2, Snell 1, Hanson 1.

Fouled out - None.

Estancia - Cantrell 16, Garner 16, Maldonado 6, Simco 4, Chandler 0,

Rodriguez 0, Aguilar 0, Jiminez 0, Hernandez 0.

3 pt. goals - Cantrell 4, Maldonado 2.

Fouled out - None.