Boys basketball: A tight fit

Barry Faulkner

SAN GABRIEL - Corona del Mar High boys basketball coach Paul Orris

knows little about Gabrielino, which hosts the Sea Kings in tonight’s CIF

Southern Section Division III-AA first-round playoff game at 7:30.

But one thing he can say without fear of contradiction, is the Mission

Valley League representative (10-16) certainly packs them in.

This reference has nothing to do with a zone defense, but rather the

limited seating capacity of the Eagles’ gym, estimated to be between 250

and 600.

“I’ve heard they only have four rows of bleachers,” Orris said of the

junior high facility, which has been the relatively new school’s home,

while its future gym is under construction.

The Sea Kings (11-16), know all about being under construction, having

rallied from a 1-5 start to contend for the Pacific Coast League crown.

CdM defeated PCL co-champion University, 84-82, Feb. 6 to earn its

coveted 11th victory and retain league title hopes. But a 58-39 loss to

Costa Mesa in the league finale forced the Sea Kings to settle for an

at-large berth.

CdM has been known to make the most of such second-season reprieves,

and the school’s strong postseason tradition is littered with streams of

opening-game victims.

CdM, with four section titles under its belt and eight section

title-game appearances in the last 24 years, has won 10 of 11 playoff openers under Orris, in his 15th season at the varsity helm.

The Sea Kings are 28-9 in section playoff games under Orris, who

worked the phone lines to construct a model of what Gabrielino will try

to do against his squad tonight.

“I’ve talked to some coaches and they gave me some Xs and O’s, both

offensively and defensively,” Orris said. “(The Eagles) will run if given

the opportunity, but they would rather keep the score in the 50s, which

is where we like to keep it. They run a half-court trap and they play

zone.”

Orris said how the Sea Kings attack that zone, and handle that trap,

will be an important factor, as will how well they contain the Eagles’

top player, 6-foot-4 junior forward Sean Carey.

“Our job will be to slow down (Carey), who likes to step back and

shoot threes, and can also put the ball on the floor,” Orris said. “If we

make him work to get his points and we effectively attack their

half-court zones, I think we’ll have a good opportunity to win.”

Carey averaged 13.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in the regular season.

Tommy Lam, a 5-11 senior guard, was Coach Scott Brummett’s second-leading

scorer (8.0 ppg), while 6-3 junior Ryan Carey (6.4 points and 7.4

rebounds) and 5-11 sophomore Jeff Lim (6.2 ppg) are additional threats.

CdM is paced by senior guards Idean Shahangian (12.5 ppg) and Eric

Snell (12.0 ppg), as well as senior forwards Zach Brewster (9.7 ppg) and

Charlie Alshuler (6.4 ppg).

Senior center Matt Marston rounds out CdM’s starting five.

Though Gabrielino has not played an Orange County team this season,

tonight’s combatants share one common opponent.

Gabrielino, which tied for second in league, split with fellow Mission

Valley runner-up El Monte, losing, 47-36, then winning, 53-44.

CdM defeated visiting El Monte, 64-46, in a Jan. 3 nonleague contest.

Tonight’s winner will advance to meet No. 2-seeded San Dimas (23-3),

Friday at the Saints’ gym.