Eberhard electric for CdM

CORONA DEL MAR — No one had to tell forward Joe Eberhard what do on the basketball court.

The go-to-guy privileges at Corona del Mar High were his, just as they were for most of the summer with teammate Stefan Kaluz at AAU tournaments.

Kaluz was gone again. This time because of foul trouble against you named it, Laguna Hills, Friday night.

Once Kaluz headed for the bench before halftime, Eberhard poured it on. The 6-foot-6 senior allowed Kaluz to stay out for stretches to avoid getting tossed again against the Hawks.

Kaluz didn’t sit for long, rising to his feet animated as did the rest of the Sea Kings on the bench. Eberhard nailed more things than someone with a hammer on “Extreme Makeover,” as he scored 18 points in the second quarter.

But his biggest points came later with CdM up by one midway through the fourth quarter and Laguna Hills thinking upset. In a 53-second span, he grabbed his own miss and scored and he followed that up with his fourth three-pointer, putting away the Hawks en route to scoring 11 of his career-high 35 points in the final quarter to lift the Sea Kings to a 68-53 Pacific Coast League victory.

In the waning seconds, Laguna Hills Coach Joe Brick stared at the court. After seeing his team hold Kaluz to 15 points and 10 rebounds, the other player he was worried about was about to flip the ball to the referee, signaling the end to the game.

The Hawks (5-15, 0-1 in league) were so close again of derailing CdM in league. The only blemish the Sea Kings (12-5, 2-0) had in league last year was a 64-63 loss to Laguna Hills, costing them an outright league title. CdM and Laguna Hills shared it, even the league MVP honors.

The hardware belonged to Kaluz, with his stellar numbers last year at center, 21 points, 12 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. But in the loss at Laguna Hills, he received two technical fouls and was ejected. Kaluz eventually led the Sea Kings to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship, earning him the section Player of the Year award.

Knowing that the 6-9 Kaluz would draw the attention again as a senior, Eberhard has taken it upon himself to score by averaging 15 points per game this season. The Brown University-bound Kaluz gets double- and triple-teamed practically every time, and he always seems to be in foul trouble against Laguna Hills, so Eberhard made the most of his opportunities.

Even when Eberhard went five for seven from the field and six for six from the free-throw line in the second quarter, Laguna Hills refrained from sending an extra defender Eberhard’s way.

“I was kind of surprised,” said Eberhard, who made nine of 18 shots and 13 of 14 free throws. “But when you got the CIF Player of the Year down low, you got to take something away. You can’t be giving up layups to Stefan.”

The Hawks didn’t, much of the credit going to 6-7 center Colin Pfingst for slowing down Kaluz. Pfingst blocked four shots and scored 11 points, but the Hawks had no answers for Eberhard.

Eberhard, who added 11 rebounds and four steals, proved to be too much on a night CdM was without its starting point guard in Erik Rask, who was on a football recruiting visit at UC Davis. Coach Ryan Schachter said Rask would return this morning and will play in the Sea Kings’ Battle of the Bay game at Newport Harbor at 7 p.m.

Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 68, Laguna Hills 53

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LH – Cymerint 15, Pfingst 11, Arbues 10, Sargeant 8, Salinas 4, Almond 3, Young 2.

3-pt. goals – Cymerint 3, Sargeant 1, Arbues 1.

Fouled out – Arbues.

CdM – Eberhard 35, Kaluz 15, Brakeville 9, Jones 3, Ragsdale 2, Donovan 2, K. Rask 2.

3-pt. goals – Eberhard 4, Brakeville 1.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.