CdM struts to victory

CORONA DEL MAR — Almost everything was the same, with a few minor exceptions, and one major one.

The second-round opponent this year was Sultana High, not Palm Springs, and Corona del Mar trounced the Sultans, 62-41, in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs.

The one big difference for the Sea Kings: Friday night, Erik Rask was making stats, not taking them.

Sidelined with a tear in his right anterior cruciate ligament that effectively ended his junior football and basketball seasons, Rask was a mere spectator to the Sea Kings’ 2007 CIF championship glory. He had to settle for recording the details in the scorebook.

Not this time.

Free from the worries of recruiting trips or committing to a school, and his right knee recovered, the future University of Pennsylvania linebacker had five points and four rebounds in the Sea Kings’ first game since Feb. 5.

“[Sitting out] was hard on me,” Rask said. “But I’m really excited this year — to just get a chance, I’m really, really happy about it.”

“It’s great,” said Corona del Mar Coach Ryan Schachter. “He’s a senior leader, he’s strong with the ball. It’s just good to have a guy like that on the court.”

For the second straight year, CdM enjoyed a first-round bye and home-court advantage in the second round of the playoffs, with a crop of 12 seniors who remember last season’s adrenaline-filled journey to the top.

The Sea Kings took a breezy 15-9 first-quarter lead before picking things up in the second. At one point, the Sea Kings had four straight offensive rebounds before Sean Donovan ended it with a three-pointer from the top.

“I think not playing in about two weeks affects us a little bit early on,” Schachter said. “Second half, we picked it up, but we still missed some easy ones. At least we’re getting easy shots, so that’s good.”

Brown-bound senior Stefan Kaluz led with 20 points and 20 rebounds, and the Sea Kings enjoyed the return of senior guard Joe Eberhard, who was sidelined for three weeks with respiratory problems and flu-like symptoms. Eberhard added 15 points.

The Sea Kings, the No. 4 seed in the division, never trailed against the under-matched Sultans, whose tallest player was 6-2. They led by 13 at the half, and took their biggest lead in the fourth quarter, when Sultana trailed, 53-30.

Their stickiest challenge was suppressing senior guard Joseph Johnson, who had 14 points and four rebounds.

Johnson had 17 second-half points Wednesday against La Quinta after being silenced for the first 16 minutes of the game.

The Sultans had marginal success when they got the ball inside to big man Eddie Rojas, who had nine points. But Rojas had several ungainly fumbles that also led to turnovers.

The Sea Kings will face fifth-seeded West Valley — a team that has a swing man big enough to challenge Kaluz, in the division quarterfinals — Tuesday, at a site to be determined by coin flip. Junior Joseph Burton is a 6-8 post player who averages 21.3 points per game. The Sea Kings defeated West Valley in the division semifinals last season, 67-61. The Mustangs advanced after beating Rowland Friday, 90-42.

“West Valley’s really good,” Schachter said. “We’re going to have to play really well to beat them ... They’re big, athletic. They’ve got the whole package.”

CIF Southern Section Division III-A

Second round

Corona del Mar 62, Sultana 41

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sul – Johnson 14, Rojas 9, Manson 7, Thomas 4, Rahman 4, Simmons 3.

3-pt. goals – Johnson 2, Manson 1, Simmons 1.

Fouled out – Manson.

Technicals – None.

CdM – Kaluz 20, Eberhard 15, Donovan 7, E. Rask 6, Ragsdale 5, Brakeville 4, Jones 2, K. McDonald 2, Meshkin 1.

3-pt. goals – Eberhard 2, Donovan 1, Ragsdale 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.