Boys basketball: CdM visits Morningside in regional semi

Barry Faulkner

INGLEWOOD - The two CIF Southern Section Division III-AA semifinal

losers are facing off, but tonight’s Southern California Regional boys

basketball semifinal between Corona del Mar High and host Morningside

(7:30 tipoff) is anything but a consolation game.

The winner will advance to Saturday’s 12:45 p.m. regional final at the

Forum, which will produce one team to represent SoCal in state

championship game in Sacramento.

“If we take care of ourselves, we can compete with these guys,” Orris

said of the Monarchs (22-10), who like CdM (23-7), overcame a 10-day

layoff to earn a first-round regional win Tuesday.

The Sea Kings, who were felled by eventual runner-up Centennial of

Compton in the section playoffs, upset San Diego Section champion

University of San Diego High, 49-46, at the Dons’ gym.

Morningside, perennial postseason nemesis of the Estancia boys and Costa

Mesa girls programs, knocked off Central Section champion Washington

Union of Fresno, the reigning state Division III titlist, 74-66, on the

road Tuesday.

The Monarchs, who finished in a three-way tie for second in the Bay

League, split their two league games with Cenntennial of Compton. They

defeated the Apaches, 49-45, in the first round, then fell, 77-58, in the

regular-season finale.

CdM led the Apaches, 27-20, at halftime, before being overcome in a 68-46

section semifinal verdict.

“We match up better with Morningside than we do Centennial,” Orris said.

“(The Monarchs) aren’t as big, but they are athletic.”

Orris said the key to defeating Coach Carl Franklin’s squad will be: 1)

Stopping transition; 2) Preventing second shots; and 3) Paying constant

defensive attention to the Monarchs’ two best outside shooters.

The aforementioned three-point threats are 6-foot-1 guard Tracy Cathey

and 6-1 junior reserve Marques Calcote. Cathey, one of only three

prominent seniors, averages 14 points per game. He scored 15 of his 17

points against Washington Union in the final two minutes.

The Monarchs’ top weapon is 6-5 senior post Dwayne Trotter, who averages

17 points and 14 rebounds. He had 20 points and 12 boards Tuesday.

Khali Young, a 6-3 junior (nine ppg), Dante Tatum, a 6-4 senior (7.5

points and 6.1 rebounds per contest), and Daniel Campbell, a 5-11 junior

(seven points and four rebounds), round out the starters. Franklin,

however, typically uses a nine-man rotation, which allows him to apply

constant full-court pressure.

CdM, one win away from matching the 1986-87 squad for most single-season

victories during Paul Orris’ 14-season tenure, is paced by 6-4 senior

Kevin Hansen.

Hansen, averaging 21 points and seven rebounds, needs just eight points

to move into the No. 4 spot on the all-time CdM single-season scoring

list. Hansen, who had a team-high 17, including the Sea Kings’ final four

in Tuesday’s win, enters with 567 points in 27 games. Jon Upham is ahead

of him with 574 in 1990-91. Jeff Fryer (792), John Vallely (640) and

Fryer again (600) had the three most prolific scoring outputs.

Senior guards Alec Hanson (11.6 ppg) and Brooks Morris (9.2 ppg) have

also been key, as has 6-7 senior center Joel Templeton. Templeton

averages 6.5 points and six rebounds, but got 10 points and eight boards

Tuesday.

CdM split with Morningside in their last two meetings in 1989. The Sea

Kings won an overtime decision in the section semifinals, but Morningside

eliminated them in the regional semis.