Boys’ Basketball: CdM vs. Damien preview

Corona del Mar (25-7) vs. La Verne Damien (25-5)

When/where: Saturday, 6 p.m. at La Verne Damien High

Key Sea Kings: Sr. SF Ryan Stone; Sr. PG Bo St. Geme (8.8 points per game); Jr. SG Sam Kobrine (10.9 points and 1.8 three-pointers per game); Jr. F Matt Ctvrtlik (9.8 points per game)

Key Spartans: Sr. PG Jeremy Hemsley (24 points, six assists and six rebounds per game); Sr. F Malik Fitts (17 points and five rebounds per game); Jr. SG Bryce Peters (14 points per game)

Breakdown: No. 10-seeded Corona del Mar travels to No. 2 La Verne Damien in the quarterfinals of the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III playoffs … Sea Kings won at No. 7 El Cajon Valley, 46-33, in the opening round on Wednesday, marking the program’s first win in the state tournament since the 1999-2000 season … Spartans walloped visiting No. 15 Selma, 86-53, in their state opener … CdM lost to Damien in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs in 2012-13 … Hemsley, a San Diego State-bound senior, leads Damien, which lost in the quarterfinals of the state tournament two seasons ago … Sea Kings have won 25 games, the most during Coach Ryan Schachter’s nine seasons in charge … Damien went 1-2 in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs, losing both games at home, the first time that’s happened in eight seasons … CdM is going up against the No. 17-ranked program in the state by CalHiSports.com … Spartans beat Etiwanda, Chino Hills and Folsom, who are now ranked No. 3, No. 11 and No. 20, respectively, in the state.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza