Boys’ Basketball: CdM’s season ends

LA VERNE — A technical on Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball coach Ryan Schachter forced him to take a seat in the second half. He lost his cool right before halftime, shortly after his point guard picked up an offensive foul near midcourt.

A livid Schachter barked at the referee, and he was surprised the referee didn’t give him a second technical and eject him from the Sea Kings’ CIF State Southern California Regional Division III quarterfinal game at La Verne Damien on Saturday. With his standing privileges gone, it was hard for Schachter to stay put in his chair, especially in the final five minutes.

The Sea Kings went on a 16-3 run to cut an 18-point deficit to five. While CdM’s fans stayed on their feet during the comeback attempt, Schachter coached from his chair. A couple of times Schachter rose to his feet when the Sea Kings tried to trim the lead to two late, but they fell short and their season ended with a 61-56 setback against the No. 17-ranked team in the state by CalHiSports.com.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Schachter said. “They didn’t give up. That has kind of been our deal all year, we’re going to grind and we’re going to compete. This was a championship effort we gave tonight.”

The performance wasn’t enough to upset Damien. The No. 2-seeded Spartans (26-5) eliminated the No. 10 Sea Kings (25-8) from the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Spartans prevented CdM from reaching the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA final in 2012-13, and two seasons later, CdM was unable to advance to its first state regional semifinal in 15 seasons.

The player responsible for stopping the Sea Kings again was Jeremy Hemsley. The point guard has grown a couple of inches since the last time he faced CdM. At 6-foot-4, Hemsley is a lot better player, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Nevertheless, CdM gave the San Diego State-bound senior a scare in the fourth quarter. After Malik Fitts put Damien up, 58-40, with 5 1/2 minutes left by hitting his third three-pointer, giving him 15 points, the Sea Kings stormed back.

“Closing out the game, we did terrible,” said Hemsley, whose team in the fourth quarter was outscored, 20-8, and turned the ball over seven times.

With nothing to lose, CdM’s Matt Ctvrtlik went to work in the paint, producing eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.

After seeing teammates Bo St. Geme and Taeveon Le each score two points, Ctvrtlik muscled his way to the basket. He made four straight shots during a 2 1/2-minute stretch to get CdM within 59-52 with 1:24 to go.

Ctvrtlik found his offensive touch from the first four rounds in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs in which he averaged 14.5 points and shot 51.4% from the field. The 6-5 junior came off the bench and ignited CdM to a 12-1 run, scoring eight of those points.

With time running out, Ryan Stone fouled Hemsley with 67 seconds remaining. Stone fouled out, and Hemsley converted both free throws, extending Damien’s lead to 61-52. The advantage went back down to seven on St. Geme’s second layup in the fourth quarter.

Le gave CdM a chance to eat into Damien’s lead right away, coming up with a steal. The freshman played a vital role in the Sea Kings’ late surge, taking a charge on Hemsley, coming up with two steals, two putbacks and six of his eight points in the last eight minutes.

“The one thing about Le is he’s just aggressive,” Schachter said of the 6-4 forward. “Guys were a little tentative, hesitant, and just unsure of themselves. I know he’s always sure of himself.”

Schachter’s confidence grew when he saw Le’s putback get the Sea Kings within striking distance. They trailed by five, and the only thing not on their side was the clock. Twenty-nine seconds remained, and after a timeout and a foul, helping CdM’s cause was Hemsley.

Hemsley, who made nine of his first 10 free throws, missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 25.2 seconds left. Ctvrtlik grabbed the rebound, and with no timeouts, the Sea Kings quickly went to Kevin Fults, who had 13 points. The senior missed a three-pointer, but Ctvrtlik got the ball near the baseline, and while falling out he tried to keep it in play, throwing it back in, only to see the Spartans come up with the ball.

At the 8.4-second mark, St. Geme fouled out, sending Bryce Peters to the free-throw line. Peters missed the first attempt in a one-and-one situation, but there wasn’t enough time for the Sea Kings to keep their season alive. Damien qualified for its first state regional semifinal and will play host to No. 3 Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart (17-13) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“I’m a little bummed, but we can compete with anybody,” said Ctvrtlik, who was nine-for-14 shooting with two threes. “They have some guys going to college for basketball, we don’t. They’re a bunch of 6-6 guys, we’re not. It came down to effort. I think in the second half at least we competed harder than they did, which got us back in that game.”

The Sea Kings’ tenacious play reminded Damien Coach Matt Dunn of one of his program’s foes in the Baseline League, Etiwanda, which Damien split two games with this season. Etiwanda, ranked No. 3 in the state, went on to make the CIF Southern Section Open Division final.

“We’ve played a great schedule and we haven’t played anybody all year like them,” Dunn said of the Sea Kings, the CIF Southern Section Division 3A runner-up. “[They’re] really tough, run their stuff really well. They were kind of unique for how we play. In some ways they’re similar to Etiwanda, they really guard you and they’re tough, physical. Etiwanda’s a little more athletic, but I respect [the Sea Kings]. They do a great job every year.”

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CIF State Southern California Regional Division III playoffs

Quarterfinal

Damien 61, Corona del Mar 56

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Corona del Mar 13 – 11 – 12 – 20 — 56

Damien 22 – 16 – 15 – 8 — 61

CdM – Ctvrtlik 21, Fults 13, Le 8, Kobrine 5, St. Geme 4, Stone 3, Moss 2.

3-pt. goals – Ctvrtlik 2, Kobrine 1.

Fouled out – Stone, St. Geme.

Technicals – Coach.

D – Je. Hemsley 21, Fitts 15, Robinson 9, Peters 8, Torices 6, Ju. Hemsley 2.

3-pt. goals – Fitts 3, Torices 2, Robinson 2.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.