Boys’ Basketball: CdM claims title

WESTMINSTER — Corona del Mar High Coach Ryan Schachter said he woke up on Saturday excited.

“We’re playing for a championship!” Schachter said, referring to the finale against Laguna Beach in the Charlie Wilkins Memorial boys’ basketball tournament.

While the tournament at Westminster High was down this year in terms of competition, Schachter reminded the Sea Kings the significance of playing for a title.

“Not too many opportunities do we get to play in a championship game, whatever level, whatever tournament,” Schachter said. “Last year, our team we went 0-2 in championship games, we lost in the [Kentfield] Marin Catholic [Don Bambauer Memorial Holiday Classic] championship and we lost in the CIF [Southern Section Division 3A] championship.”

Schachter’s mood eventually rubbed off on his players on Saturday night. It took them the first 8½ minutes to get into the game, but once they did, the Sea Kings ran away with their first tournament title in six years.

The Sea Kings topped Laguna Beach, 57-44, finishing the tournament undefeated. They only played four games, just 10 teams participated in the five-day tournament.

The players that led the way during the tournament for CdM (8-2), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A poll, were Matt Ctvrtlik and Sam Kobrine. The two seniors bounced back after subpar performances during a 53-48 semifinal win against Capistrano Valley Christian on Friday.

In the final against Laguna Beach (8-3), ranked No. 12 in Division 4AA, Kobrine and Ctvrtlik stood out. Kobrine finished with 20 points and five rebounds, and Ctvrtlik, CdM’s tournament MVP, produced 18 points and 12 rebounds. Both Kobrine and Ctvrtlik made four three-pointers.

“One of the things that I’m real proud of about yesterday’s semifinal win was both Sam and Matt didn’t have great offensive games and we still found ways to win,” said Schachter, who saw Taeveon Le lead CdM in the semifinals with 16 points, while Nick Borquez added nine points and D.J. Rodman had seven points. “I knew [Kobrine and Ctvrtlik] were both going to have good games [in the championship]. These are guys that have been through a lot of big-time games and big moments. I thought they were going to come through.”

Ctvrtlik and Kobrine helped CdM rally from a 10-point deficit in the second quarter. The Sea Kings went on a 17-5 run, as Ctvrtlik and Kobrine each hit a three-pointer.

Rodman, who finished with nine points, and Ben Coffman also recorded three-point plays during the CdM spurt. Rodman made his from behind the arc and Coffman completed his at the free-throw line, right after Laguna Beach fouled Coffman while he made a difficult layup.

Borquez closed out the first half with his second basket in the paint. Rodman dished the ball to the 6-foot-7 center in the lane, where Borquez made his shot with four seconds left before halftime. The Sea Kings went into the break up, 29-24.

“We were up 10 [30 seconds into the second quarter] and we found ourselves down five at halftime,” said Laguna Beach Coach Bret Fleming, whose team went cold in the second quarter, making only three of 12 shots, compared to CdM’s nine-for-15 shooting performance.

The Sea Kings continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, going 55% from the field. The three-point shot kept CdM out in front in the third quarter.

Three of CdM’s four field goals in the third quarter were threes. Kobrine nailed two of the three-pointers and Ctvrtlik had the other.

The most impressive shot by CdM in the third wasn’t a three. It was a layup by Kobrine.

In the waning seconds of the third quarter, Kobrine drove and spun into the lane for two, giving the Sea Kings a 42-37 lead. Kobrine pushed the advantage to 10 right away in the fourth quarter.

Seventeen seconds in, he knocked down a three from the top, and 31 seconds later, after coming up with a steal, Kobrine raced in for a layup. Ctvrtlik banked in a shot, and the first seven points in the fourth belonged to CdM. Fleming called a timeout to slow down the Sea Kings.

The team that couldn’t score in the fourth was the one Fleming coached. It wasn’t until the 3:20 mark that Laguna Beach scored for the first time in the quarter.

Blake Burzell, whose 15 points tied Isaac Wulff for the team lead, ended the Breakers’ scoring drought by converting two free throws. The Sea Kings only gave up two baskets in the fourth, an impressive feat against a usually efficient Laguna Beach offense.

“[Laguna Beach] runs the best Princeton offense in high school that I’ve seen,” said Schachter, whose team is the second from the Back Bay to beat the Breakers this season, Newport Harbor handed Laguna Beach a 74-51 setback in the first game at the Godinez tournament on Dec. 1.

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Charlie Wilkins Memorial Tournament

Championship

Corona del Mar 57, Laguna Beach 44

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM 7 – 22 – 13 – 15 — 57

LB 15 – 9 – 13 – 7— 44

CdM – S. Kobrine 20, Ctvrtlik 18, Rodman 8, Borquez 4, Coffman 3, Garbers 2, Le 2.

3-pt. goals – Ctvrtlik 4, S. Kobrine 4, Rodman 2.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

LB – Burzell 15, Wulff 15, Richardson 9, Rounaghi 3, Rahder 2.

3-pt. goals – Richardson 2, Rounaghi 1, Burzell 1, Wulff 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.