Boys basketball: CdM beaten, but not done yet

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - The Corona del Mar High boys basketball team didn’t

look like it had much basketball left, after visiting Centennial of

Compton erased a 27-20 halftime deficit to win going away, 68-46, in

Friday’s CIF Southern Section Division III-AA semifinal at Estancia High.

But, a 22-7 campaign which included a Pacific Coast League title will

continue for the Sea Kings in the CIF state playoffs, which begin March

7.

The unusual extension came as a result of the section combining two

divisions into one III-AA classification, allowing the four semifinalists

to earn the section’s four guaranteed state tournament berths.

For nearly 16 minutes Friday, it appeared the third-seeded hosts wouldn’t

need any loopholes to keep playing, as they executed a well-conceived

game plan with purpose on both ends of the court.

Switching from man-to-man to matchup zone on defense, sagging effectively

on Centennial’s 6-foot-8, 235-pound big man Ellis Myles, the Sea Kings

held the visitors to 15 points through the first 15:32.

On the offensive end, unselfish ball movement and solid screens helped

create open looks, primarily for All-CIF senior Kevin Hansen, who took

advantage for 13 first-half points.

The Sea Kings led, 27-15 after Hansen’s 15 footer with 2:28 left in the

half, but it proved to be the apex for the hosts.

A Myles layup, his first field goal of the game, cut the deficit to 10

and Apache senior point guard Eric Alvarez threw in a 26-foot

three-pointer at the buzzer to signal a clear momentum change.

“That three at the end of the half was big,” CdM Coach Paul Orris said.

“Not only because it cut a 10-point lead to seven, but because it really

fired them up.”

Centennial carried the emotional boost into the third quarter, scoring

the first nine points to take a 29-27 lead with 5:13 left.

Hansen ended the 14-0 run with a three-point play, but it proved to be

the first of only two CdM field goals in a span of 14:03.

Unleashing a tenacious man-to-man defense, unseeded Centennial, which

improved to 20-11 with its 10th straight win, took the Sea Kings out of

their offense.

Equally as important, the Apaches began exploiting their inside size

advantage and also collecting transition buckets to continue to pull

away.

Centennial led, 43-36, at the end of the third quarter, then scored the

first five points of the fourth. CdM, which shot just 37.5% from the

field after the break (6 of 16), never got closer than 11, as the Apache fans celebrated with consistent war whoops and melodic chants.

Hansen, who hit all three of his three-pointers before intermission,

finished with 22 points, but spent so much energy trying to rid himself

of defenders, he was visibly gasping in the fourth quarter.

CdM senior Brooks Morris added 14 points off the bench, but the rest of

the lineup combined for only 10 points.

Myles, a transfer from Compton High, had 17 of his 20 points in the

second half.

Alvarez, a 5-10, 170-pound dynamo, amassed 16 points, eight assists, five

steals and three rebounds. His fiery leadership also seemed to lift his

teammates, not to mention the rather sizable Centennial crowd in

attendance.

“They turned it up a notch and we ran out of ... , “Orris said. “We shot

the ball well early, but they made it hard for us to run our offense in

the second half. Our kids played hard and this season is nothing to hang

our heads about. We’ve got another shot in the state playoffs and we have

nothing to lose.”

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS

CIF DIVISION III-AA SEMIFINAL

Centennial 68, Corona del Mar 46

Score by Quarters

Centennial 9 11 23 25 - 68

Corona del Mar 17 10 9 10 - 46

Centennial - Myles 20, Alvarez 16, Davis 11, Joubert 9, Barnes 6, Coleman

4, Smith 2.

3-pt. goals - Alvarez 2, Barnes 1, Davis 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - Myles 1.

Corona del Mar - Hansen 22, Morris 14, Hietbrink 4, Hanson 3, Templeton

3, Snell 0, Patterson 0, Shahangian 0, Bottom 0, Owen 0, Najar 0b.

3-pt. goals - Hansen 3, Morris 2, Hanson 1.

Fouled out - Templeton.

Technicals - None.