Boys’ Basketball: CdM owns Back Bay

Sam Kobrine closed out 2015 with a bang.

The start of the New Year for Kobrine was just as impressive if you asked Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball coach Ryan Schachter.

Six days after rallying CdM from a 21-point third-quarter deficit, Kobrine put the Sea Kings on his back again. It’s one thing to score 30 points and lead the Sea Kings to an overtime win in a fifth-place game on a neutral court at a tournament in the San Francisco Bay Area, and another to pull it off on your archrival’s court.

With the game on the line at Newport Harbor, Kobrine came through for CdM on Tuesday. After trailing all night long, the senior gave the Sea Kings their first lead by knocking down a three-pointer with seven seconds left.

There would be no overtime in this one.

Kobrine’s shot proved to be the game-winner, lifting CdM to a 51-48 come-from-behind victory in the Battle of the Bay rivalry game. Afterward, the Sea Kings’ fans lifted Kobrine on their shoulders, carrying the guard around midcourt.

One fan yelled out, “A new legend!” Kobrine earned the title after his fourth-quarter performance. He scored 12 of his 21 points in the final 4½ minutes.

“It’s crazy,” said Kobrine, who made four of six shots in the fourth quarter, including each of his two three-pointers and two free throws. “It’s a great experience. All of these Battle of the Bay games are really fun experiences.”

The experiences have been fun for Kobrine and CdM (12-4), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A poll, because they keep beating the Sailors. The Sea Kings have won the last eight meetings against Newport Harbor, but this one was different from the previous seven.

The Sailors (14-3), ranked No. 14 in Division 2AA, went into the contest riding a 12-game winning streak. They were also off to their best start since the 1998-99 season.

“This is by the far the toughest one,” said Schachter, who has never lost to Newport Harbor during his 10 seasons at CdM. “I feel like we stole one tonight. I’m sure it’s going to be miserable in that [Newport Harbor] locker room, because I know they believe they outplayed us. It’s tough to lose a game like that.”

The Sea Kings overcame a 13-point deficit in the second quarter, a 12-point deficit in the third quarter and a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Players like Matt Ctvrtlik (10 points and 10 rebounds), Taeveon Le (seven points), D.J. Rodman (six points) and Ben Coffman (four points) also helped CdM come back each time.

With 49 seconds left to play, the Sea Kings finally pulled even with Newport Harbor on Kobrine’s drive to the left. He evened the score at 48-48, and eight seconds later, the Sailors wound up turning the ball over near the baseline.

The Sea Kings brought the ball up, and with 15.4 seconds to go, they called a timeout. Ten seconds remained on the shot clock, and Schachter gave the team two options.

“It was for Sam or Matt on the left side,” said Schachter, who told the two, “You guys make it happen.”

The best option appeared to be Kobrine, because Newport Harbor’s Brandon Phillips (17 points) did a great job defending the 6-foot-5 Ctvrtlik, who was three-of-10 shooting.

Kobrine delivered. He took a step-back three-pointer, and with a hand in his face, Kobrine drained it.

“I knew it was going in as soon as he let it go,” Schachter said of Kobrine’s third successful three-pointer. “I was at a perfect angle, and I said, ‘Oh, yes!’”

Newport Harbor Coach Bob Torribio shook his head and quickly asked for a timeout after the shot. The Sailors had 6.9 seconds to work with, and they wanted the ball in their best player’s hands.

Collin Pipkin, who finished with 13 points and a handful of assists, got the ball to Charlie Stassel. Schachter said he instructed the Sea Kings to foul at midcourt, hoping to send the Sailors to the free-throw line, but they were unable to foul. Behind the three-point line, it seemed that the Sea Kings hit Stassel, who threw up a desperation shot in the waning seconds.

Stassel, who had eight points, missed the potential game-tying three. There would be no overtime.

“The referees didn’t call [a foul],” said Torribio, whose team was outscored, 17-8, in the fourth quarter. “There are three [referees] out there. If you asked Coach Schachter, it appeared to me that they were trying to foul at the end of the game and we didn’t get the call, but that’s all right.

“When you lose, it’s always tough. We battled and we think we proved tonight that we could play with a lot of good teams. We’ve had a tough preseason schedule, not to mention this game right here, and I really think we’re [Sunset League] ready.”

The Sailors just aren’t quite ready to beat the Sea Kings.

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Battle of the Bay

Corona del Mar 51, Newport Harbor 48

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM 10 – 12 – 12 – 17 — 51

Newport 18 – 9 – 13 – 8— 48

CdM – S. Kobrine 21, Ctvrtlik 10, Le 7, Rodman 6, Coffman 4, Borquez 2, Haly 1.

3-pt. goals – Kobrine 3, Le 1, Rodman 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

NH – B. Phillips 17, Pipkin 13, Stassel 8, Harding 5, Poivre 4, Blaine 1.

3-pt. goals – Stassel 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.