CdM rules rivalry

CORONA DEL MAR — Cupcakes with each players’ jersey number on top were placed in the Corona del Mar High locker room.

When Sean Donovan walked in and saw his cupcake, he wanted to bite into it.

“We’re not allowed to eat them until after,” Donovan said.

He might have gotten away with eating his before the boys’ basketball game.

Record-wise, the Sea Kings played host to a cupcake opponent Saturday night.

But Newport Harbor proved to be no cupcake in the Battle of the Bay.

The Sailors hung around before the Sea Kings pulled away for a 52-43 victory in front of a packed gym.

Donovan, who finished with 15 points, expected the struggling Sailors (4-16) to keep it close.

“It’s a rivalry game,” the senior said. “We felt like we were the better team. We didn’t show that earlier. For awhile, it wasn’t pretty.”

That was OK with Donovan. His cupcake, with the No. 15, made up for it afterward.

Donovan enjoyed his dessert. Coach Ryan Schachter allowed him and the rest of teammates to stuff their faces after CdM (11-11) beat its Back Bay rival for the third straight season.

“If we lost, I probably would’ve smashed [the cupcakes],” said a smiling Schachter.

Schachter wasn’t all smiles midway through the third quarter.

He felt hot. At halftime someone opened the two doors near the Sea Kings’ bench to cool things inside the building.

There was a girls’ basketball game before the boys’ game. That wasn’t the problem. A wrestling tournament earlier in the day made some people feel like they were trying to cut weight while watching the boys’ basketball game.

The heat eventually got to Schachter. Seeing guard Chris Anderson keep the Sailors in the game with 16 points didn’t help.

The referees blew on pink whistles, but Schachter didn’t treat one so rosy.

He yelled, “Watch the shooter!” to the same referee twice. The referee had enough, blowing his pink whistle and giving Schachter a technical foul.

Schachter sat down. He watched his team’s lead get cut to 37-26 when Anderson converted a free throw.

“I was really surprised. That was quick,” Schachter said of receiving the technical. “Both times [my player got fouled]. When you shoot the ball, you got to be able to land. Both times they hit us on our way down. The trail ref is supposed to watch the shooter and both times he didn’t.

“I think he [gave me a technical] because he knew I was right.”

A minute later, the same referee called an offensive foul on Donovan.

Schachter stayed silent, but one of his reserves rose from his seat to protest. The referee scolded him.

“Sit down!” the referee said.

The Sea Kings avoided further problems. Donovan helped ease the tension.

The guard gave CdM a comfortable lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Donovan drove left and banked in a shot, getting fouled in the process. He converted the three-point play at the free-throw line, giving CdM a 45-31 lead, the team’s largest at that point.

On the Sea Kings’ next possession, Donovan, from the three-point line, hit center Steven Gallian with a perfect pass in the paint.

Gallian quickly converted the layup, pushing the lead to 16 points, a deficit too large for Newport Harbor to overcome.

The Sailors have now lost eight straight games.

“We have our limitations on experience, but our kids make up for our inabilities with their effort,” Newport Harbor interim coach Bob Torribio said.

“We go as Chris goes. When he’s on, we can play with a lot of teams. He kept us in there for a little bit.”

Anderson recorded 13 points before halftime.

The rest of the way, CdM sophomore guards Keegan Jakosky and Danny Cheek made things difficult for the junior.

Keegan and Cheek combined for 19 points and seven steals. One of those steals almost led to a Cheek dunk early in the second quarter.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Cheek, who missed the easy dunk, but still earned himself a cupcake.

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 52, Newport Harbor 43

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NH – Anderson 16, Shaw 10, Lyon 6, Bagby 4, Leggett 3, Caldwell 2, Seeber 2.

3-pt. goals – Shaw 2, Anderson 1, Leggett 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

CdM – Donovan 15, Cheek 10, Jakosky 9, Gallian 7, Jones 6, P. Stone 5.

3-pt. goals – Cheek 2, P. Stone 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

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