Sea Kings CIF-final bound

IRVINE — Now that’s how you return to your alma mater.

No, Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball coach Ryan Schachter wasn’t at his 10-year high school reunion at University High Friday night.

That was last year. The night’s main attraction would blow away any class gathering.

In his first year at CdM, Schachter has guided the Sea Kings back to the big dance.

What better way for Schachter to accomplish the feat than at the school he envisioned coaching while playing basketball for it?

After guiding the fourth-seeded Sea Kings past No. 9 West Valley of Hemet, 67-61, in the CIF Southern Section Division III-A semifinals, Schachter’s wife approached him.

Crystal asked him, did you have fun?

“I hope so,” said Schachter, who graduated from University in 1996. “This is amazing. Coming back to my alma mater and being able to play here and win here is a great feeling.

“But it doesn’t matter if we played here, or Costa Mesa, Estancia, or Newport [Harbor], as long as we got it done.”

The Sea Kings found ways to end Schachter’s return on a high note. The back-and-forth game could have gone either way, with CdM (21-7) finally finding its match in size.

Getting to the championship game, where it will face No. 1 Renaissance Academy (28-1) of La Cañada Flintridge at the Honda Center next Saturday, proved to be a load for CdM.

Six-foot-9 center Stefan Kaluz learned right away that West Valley (20-10) wouldn’t fall easy like the other teams have most of the year.

Kaluz finished with a game-high 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. But with 6-7, 280-pound center Joseph Burton, the Mustangs pushed Kaluz around.

At the end, Burton used too much force and CdM took advantage.

With 1 minute, 21 seconds left and CdM up, 58-57, Kaluz attacked Burton, who had four fouls. Burton appeared to have blocked the shot near the baseline to give him three blocks against Kaluz.

But a late whistle by an official sent Burton to the bench as he fouled out with eight points and 10 rebounds. But his absence left West Valley without an inside threat calling for constant double teams as the 215-pound Kaluz, or 6-7, 230-pound forward John Joyce, couldn’t handle Burton.

With Burton out and Kaluz hitting both free throws to give CdM a three-point advantage, there was plenty of room to maneuver and think big. The Sea Kings had a big enough lead to realize they were on their way to helping CdM make its first section title appearance since the 1998-1999 season.

“I felt we had it once he left,” said CdM guard Joe Eberhard, who finished with 18 points and went four of four from behind the three-point line. “We knew Stefan would do whatever he wanted down there [in the paint].”

The Sea Kings didn’t need Kaluz to score again. His job was done, scoring 12 points on five-for-seven shooting in the final quarter.

The guards finished things up. Eberhard, along with point guard Austin Evett and Sean Donovan off the bench, defended West Valley’s Eric Lawton, Dakota Downs and Richard Plummer well down the stretch.

Downs and Plummer scored two points each in the fourth, and finished with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Lawton just couldn’t make any more baskets after scoring eight of his 13 points in the fourth.

When the CdM trio wasn’t on defense, it was on the free-throw line. In the final 48 seconds, the three combined to convert six of seven free throws.

One of those free throws was by Evett, who has evolved as the floor leader after Schachter wasn’t sure who would fill that void after losing Erik Rask to a knee injury before the season.

Schachter knew he had something special in CdM after he left his first head coaching job at Costa Mesa after two years to pursue the Sea Kings’ position during the summer.

In Schachter’s return to his alma mater, his Sea Kings showed they are special.

CIF Southern Section

Division III-A

Semifinal

Corona del Mar 67,

West Valley 61

Score by Quarters

West Valley 15 18 12 16 — 61

CdM 18 14 13 22 — 67

West Valley -- Downs 18, Plummer 16, Lawton 13, Burton 8, Wynn 4, Brooks 2.

3-pt. goals -- Plummer 2, Lawton 1.

Fouled out -- Downs, Burton.

Corona del Mar -- Kaluz 27, Eberhard 18, Donovan 8, Lane 8, Evett 3, Joyce 3.

3-pt. goals -- Eberhard 4, Donovan 2 .