Sea Kings can’t find the groove

Richard Dunn

With its gym reverberating to the sounds of Friday night’s hired

entertainment, Corona del Mar High lost its rhythm late in the fourth

quarter as visiting Tesoro won its first league boys basketball game

in school history, 48-45.

“It’s disappointing, because we have to defend our home court,”

CdM Coach Ryan Curry said, following his team’s Pacific Coast League

setback, after leading, 40-34, early in the final eight minutes. “We

had a lot of (students) coming out watching us and things going on

(during timeouts and between quarters). The place is rocking and

we’ve got to play ... that’s four or five games now we’ve missed a

(potential) game-winner.”

CdM senior Kevin Mancillas, who drained a three-pointer with 0:09

left to cut Tesoro’s lead to 46-45, hit the back of the rim on a

three-point attempt at the buzzer and the ball caromed high in the

air before landing on the other side of the backboard. Tesoro (7-10,

1-1 in league) celebrated after outscoring CdM, 15-5, in the game’s

final 6:10.

“I think we were grinding it out, trying to do everything possible

to win,” Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett said. “That’s how we’ve played

all year. It’s just a matter of putting it away. We’ll play hard for

four quarters. That’ll be our trademark.”

Corona del Mar (8-10, 1-1), which defeated Laguna Beach in

overtime in the league lid-lifter, 59-56, missed seven straight

field-goal attempts (including four threes) in the final three

minutes of the fourth quarter. Mancillas finally broke the drought

with his three-pointer to bring the Sea Kings to within one point.

But the hosts had already lost their momentum, as well as their

six-point lead.

The Sea Kings led, 42-36, after Adam Freede’s 10-foot jumper

following a penetration dribble from the point with over five minutes

remaining. A six-point lead seemed large in a game that featured

seven lead changes and six ties.

“I told our kids that we lost the game in the first quarter,” said

Curry, whose team fell behind, 11-3, after scoring the game’s first

three points. “When you’re down 11-3, it takes a ton of energy to

come back. We let that team believe it could come in here and beat

us. We make the first bucket, then we let them go on an 11-0 run.”

The Sea Kings, who committed five turnovers in the opening 4:24,

missed seven consecutive shots in the first quarter after Mancillas

hit a three-pointer to start the game. They rallied, however, in the

second quarter, after trailing, 16-6.

CdM, which travels to University on Wednesday, outscored Tesoro,

16-3, during a second-quarter stretch that saw the Sea Kings take the

lead, 22-19. They held one-point intermission lead.

There were several ties and lead changes in the third quarter, in

which Pancho Seaborn (team-high 10 points) scored seven of his points

on 3-of-4 shooting, including a three-pointer with 0:24 on the clock

to square matters, 33-33.

CdM’s Brett Matsen nailed a three early in the fourth quarter,

followed by an electrifying reverse layup on the fast break by

teammate Bart Welch and a steal and layup by Freede with 6:10 left to

give the hosts a 40-34 edge, their biggest lead of the game.

“When (the Titans) needed a basket, they got one, and we didn’t

get one when we needed one,” Curry said.

Pat Marion, one of four sophomores in the starting lineup, along

with 6-foot-6 freshman center James Cawthorne, led the Titans with 29

points on an 8-of-15 effort from the field, including 3 of 5 from

beyond the three-point line. Marion was 10 of 12 from the free-throw

line, while adding eight rebounds and three steals.