Boys basketball: CdM wins thriller over Notre Dame, 61-59

Richard Dunn

COSTA MESA - The spirit that flowed through each player wasn’t

about a “consolation semifinal” and the enthusiasm from beginning to end

on both benches would never lead you to believe it was the loser’s

bracket.

But it was all about believing Friday afternoon for Corona del Mar

High’s boys basketball team in the Coast Holiday Classic at Estancia,

where you could feel the pain of winless Notre Dame of Riverside and

perhaps shed a joyful tear for the Sea Kings, who rallied from a 15-point

deficit in the third quarter to beat Notre Dame in a must-see finish,

61-59, and celebrated like it was a New Year’s Eve party.

“We needed this win in the worst way. I don’t care if Notre Dame was

0-10 or what, we needed this,” said CdM Coach Paul Orris, whose team

(4-9) held on with an impressive defensive stop in the final 11.6

seconds, knocking the ball away, before CdM senior guard Idean Shahangian

came up with it and heaved it high in the air at the final buzzer.

Senior Eric Snell gave CdM a 61-56 cushion with 0:53 to play when he

banked in a three-pointer from straight-on range above the free-throw

line.

But the Titans, who started with great eagerness after blowing a

fourth-quarter lead in their previous game and losing in overtime in

another, hit a three-pointer with 0:33 left and got the ball back with

less than 12 seconds remaining.

“Today might be the day (we get our first win),” Notre Dame Coach

Robert Robinson said before tipoff, referring to his team’s close misses.

Notre Dame, led by sizzling outside shooter Tim Sanders (26 points),

rallied from a two-point deficit in the second quarter, outscoring CdM,

24-10, for a 35-23 halftime lead.

Joshua Britton’s layup and free throw to open the second half

increased Notre Dame’s lead to 38-23. But Shahangian sparked CdM’s big

rally with four three-pointers in the third quarter as the Sea Kings

outscored the Titans, 24-11, for a 47-46 lead by quarter’s end.

“That’s one of the best games he’s had,” Orris said of Shahangian, who

scored a season-high 22 points, while 6-2 senior Taumata Grey, playing

his first year of organized basketball, had a breakthrough game (13

points and four rebounds in the second quarter).

The Sea Kings will play Mary Star for the consolation championship

today at 12:40 p.m.

COAST HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Consolation semifinals

Corona del Mar 61, Notre Dame (Riverside) 59

Score by Quarters

Notre Dame 11 24 11 13 - 59 Corona del Mar 13 10 24 14 - 61 Notre Dame - Britton 5, Hodges 6, Freeman 9, Richards 0, Sanders 26,

Lyons 13.

3-pt. goals - Lyons 3, Sanders 2.

Fouled out - Richards, Britton.

Technical fouls - Freeman.

Corona del Mar - Snell 11, Brewster 10, Shahangian 22, K. Mancillas 0,

Alshuler 5, Marsten 0, Glass 0, Grey 13.

3-pt. goals - Shahangian 4, Snell 2.

Fouled out - None.

Technical fouls - None.