Newest alumni prevail

CORONA DEL MAR ? After winning the championship game against players who have children older than they are, the five victorious recent Corona del Mar High graduates were told they lacked the historical perspective sufficient to grasp the magnitude of their accomplishment.

“One of the older guys told me, ‘Dude, you can’t even appreciate how special winning this thing is,’ ” said Matt Doran, who along with four teammates from the Class of 2006, set a precedent in winning the 18th annual Jack Errion Memorial Corona del Mar High basketball alumni tournament Saturday.

“We’re a Cinderella story,” said Doran, whose team clung to the theme of surprising its elders to become the first class fresh from graduation to win the prestigious 16-team event.

“The guys who graduated last year lost their first two games,” Doran said. “So we really wanted to at least do better than that.”

Doran, a starter on the CdM team that went 16-12 and lost in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs, was joined by former teammates Ryan Lance, Scott Slaughter and Shaun Mohler. The fifth member of the cast, R.J. Duernberger, who played baseball at CdM, stepped in to fill out the lineup that played every minute of every game.

Playing every minute of each of the seven five-on-five full-court contests, comprised of two 15-minute halves (running time), was not possible for the runner-up 1970s team.

That unit, led by “ringer” Jon Upham (Class of 1991), and including 1973 graduate and former USC guard Casey Jones, literally limped into ? then throughout ? the final.

Mike Murphy (Class of 1975) battled debilitating cramps that consumed his calves, his quadriceps and his hamstrings.

“It happens every year,” said Murphy, the respected coach at Sonora High.

Also playing for the 1970s squad in the final were Court Shannon (Class of 1978), Mike Flamson (Class of 1978) and Cory Alder (Class of 1977).

The six-man roster was all that was left from an original nine-player group that included Chris Baker (Class of 1975), Paul Gillebaard (Class of 1980) and Mike Dicken (Class of 1980).

Despite the difference in years and fitness, the title game was close throughout, including four lead changes and three ties.

Trailing, 23-22, at halftime, the 1970s squad turned two Flamson free throws and one of Jones’ four three-pointers into a 27-23 advantage.

The “old guys,” relegated by exhaustion and muscle cramps to walking up the court for much of the second half, were up, 41-37, after Jones found Upham underneath for a layup with 6:40 remaining.

But the fresher legs produced a 9-0 run to assume command and Lance was six for six from the foul line in the final minute to clinch the win.

Lance, a Newport-Mesa Dream Team performer last season, finished with 15 points.

Mohler, a reserve for the Sea Kings as a senior, scored a game-high 17 points to lead the winners. Mohler, the Newport-Mesa Defensive Player of the Year as a linebacker who will be continuing his football career at Orange Coast College, also hit the game-winning shot, a 14-foot jumper, in a 40-38 overtime victory over the 1981 team in one semifinal.

Slaughter scored 11 points in the final, including one of the team’s four three-pointers. Duerenberger also hit a three ball to account for his three points and Doran, acting as the team’s distributor, added two points.

Jones had 15 points in the final to lead the runners-up, while Upham added 13 and Flamson had 11.

Shannon had five points.

“Give them credit,” Jones said of the winners. “They got the ball out on the break and they used their quickness to pop open in their half-court offense.”

Doran said “hustle, heart and determination,” made the difference in the final.

“And Mohler definitely stepped up,” Doran added.

Said Lance, “We weren’t really sure how we’d do. But winning this thing was awesome. I’ve watched a few of these when I was working the scoreboard.”

The 1970s team advanced to the final with a 28-26 win over the 2001 team. Alder hit the game-winning three-pointer to finalize the scoring with 48 seconds left.

The 2001 team, which included Eric Snell, Charlie Alshuler, Idean Shahangian, Zach Brewster, Matt Marston, Blake Mancillas and Dave Richardson, missed a 15-foot fallaway and the subsequent four-foot follow shot as time expired.

The 2006 team’s semifinal win eliminated the 1981 team, led by tournament founder Mike Hess.