Breakers flat in loss to Sea Kings

Slow start dooms Laguna in boys’ basketball.For a rivalry game, the Laguna Beach High boys’ basketball team couldn’t fan the flame of passion Wednesday when it hosted Corona del Mar.

The Breakers got off to a lackluster start in the Pacific Coast League clash, never recovered and eventually dropped a 71-53 decision to the Sea Kings.

“I take responsibility for this one,” Laguna coach Bret Fleming said after his Breakers dropped their fourth league outing in five games. “I just didn’t have them prepared.

“We had no heart and did not come out ready to play. I don’t know why. It was a rivalry game. I think we have enough talent on this team to play with them and, at the very least, be competitive.”

The Breakers’ flat start saw them fall behind, 15-4, after the first quarter. It didn’t get any better from there, either, as Corona del Mar increased its lead to 22-6 three minutes into the second quarter before settling for a 35-20 advantage at the half.

The Sea Kings took advantage of second and third opportunities under the basket in the first half, while the Breakers didn’t.

Laguna also had trouble containing Stefan Kaluz, Corona del Mar’s 6-foot-7 sophomore center.

The Breakers did a good job of containing Kaluz during summer ball, but didn’t have an answer Wednesday. He scored 17 points by halftime. However, Kaluz netted just four more after that to finish with 21.

Laguna guard Cheyne Martin led a late first-half spurt by Laguna with a flurry of three-point baskets. The junior had 11 points at the half.

The Breakers could not get closer than their 15-point halftime deficit. Thanks to the three-point shooting of the Sea Kings’ Ryan Lance and Erik Rask, Corona del Mar swiftly padded its lead in the third quarter.

The Sea Kings led by as many as 25 points in the quarter, and went up 26 in the fourth quarter before Laguna made a late run.

Lance finished with 27 points and Rask, behind four three-point baskets, netted a career-high 16 points.

Both players, Fleming said, scored nearly 12 points more than what they averaged coming into the game.

Martin blistered the net with five three-point baskets and led Laguna with 21 points.

Teammates Brian Delino and Jeff Clark finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Fleming said that practice prior to today’s game at Tesoro was going to be “a little brutal.”

“We’re going to work hard and do a lot of live rebounding,” he said. “Whoever works hard is going to start against Tesoro.

“We’re too small a team not to have a big heart and play with passion and aggression. That’s been lacking lately. We need to get that fire back.”

Before falling to Corona del Mar, Laguna was coming off a 71-63 league loss to visiting University.

In that game, the Breakers let 12-point halftime lead slip away. They were outscored in the fourth quarter, 27-12.

Cheyne Martin hit a trio of three-point shots en route to a team-high 27 points for Laguna. Jeff Clark added 13 points and Brian Delino 11 for the Breakers.

Upcoming schedule:

Today: at Tesoro, 7 p.m.

Wednesday: at Beckman, 7 p.m.

Jan. 27: Northwood, 7 p.m.