Boys’ Basketball: CdM opens with impressive win
TUSTIN — Corona del Mar High opened the boys’ basketball season at Tustin on Friday. The two teams could see each other again next week at CdM, and both hope they won’t be as rusty as they were at the start of the first meeting.
The Sea Kings and Tillers combined for 11 first-quarter points in the nonleague affair. The visitors eventually found their shot, thanks to Matt Ctvrtlik, while the hosts continued to struggle offensively.
Ctvrtlik is no longer coming off the bench for CdM, as he did last season. His presence from start to finish carried the Sea Kings to a 57-38 rout.
The 6-foot-4 senior finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block. By halftime, Ctvrtlik had 12 points, one more point than Tustin had as a team.
Ctvrtlik helped CdM go into the break ahead, 18-11. The seven-point lead felt like CdM was up by double that amount. The Tillers shot 21.7% in the first half, and during one stretch, they went almost 10 minutes without scoring a point.
“They went a long time without scoring,” CdM Coach Ryan Schachter said. “I like our team defensively. We’re long. We rebound well. We’re not really athletic. We’re not really fast. But we take up a lot of space on the court. I hope it’s going to be hard for other teams to score [against us].”
Tustin found it difficult to run its offense against CdM’s man-to-man defense. The 38-point performance was the Tillers’ worst since the 2013-14 season. They managed to win that game at Kennedy two seasons ago, but mistakes gave the Tillers no chance against CdM.
The Sea Kings forced 16 turnovers, and a handful led to fastbreak opportunities. Sam Kobrine, who finished with 17 points, came up with a steal 2½ minutes into the second half, and raced in for a layup, making it despite Tustin fouling him.
Kobrine converted the three-point play at the free-throw line. It was the second three-point play CdM produced in an 11-second span, Ctvrtlik had the other, and with 5:20 left in the third quarter, the Sea Kings built a 30-15 lead.
During a 12-4 run to start the second half, Ctvrtlik contributed seven points and Kobrine five. After watching Ctvrtlik lead CdM in scoring through the first two quarters, Kobrine recorded nine points in the third.
“We kind of have Sam playing now at point guard, when he used to be our [shooting] guard [last season],” Schachter said. “We had to kind of tweak a lot of our offense to get him shots within the offense.”
The next games for the Sea Kings and Tillers will take place on Monday, the opening day of the CdM Beach Bash, a six-day, 18-team tournament.
The Sea Kings and Tillers missed each other at the CdM Beach last season. They could’ve met in the finale, but only Tustin got that far and lost to Mater Dei. The Sea Kings dropped their semifinal, and placed third with a win against Edison.
This year’s tournament features powerhouse programs like Mater Dei, the CIF State Division I runner-up, and Compton, the CIF Southern Section Division 2A champion. The Monarchs are ranked No. 4 in the Los Angeles Times’ top 25 preseason poll, while Compton is No. 21.
The Sea Kings’ first game is against St. Andrews, which is from New Zealand, and Tustin has Edison at Costa Mesa High. Schachter believes Tustin, which has only two returning players, will rebound at the tournament.
“You never know in the first game. It’s just ugly both ways,” Schachter said, referring to first-game jitters.
The CdM-Tustin matchup featured two of the top programs in their respective CIF Southern Section divisions, CdM reached the finals of the Division 3A playoffs last season and Tustin advanced to the Division 1AA semifinals.
The game got off to a sluggish start. After Isiah Moorhouse (10 points) banked in a prayer in the lane 58 seconds into the game, Tustin missed its next nine shots in the first quarter.
The Sea Kings scored the first quarter’s final nine points, Ctvrtlik almost had half of the points in the paint. His hook shot with 22 seconds left in the first put CdM up, 9-2.
Tustin, which hadn’t scored since the 7:02 mark in the opening quarter, snapped its scoreless streak with 5:20 left in the first half. Cody Kuzay made one free throw, cutting CdM’s lead to 13-3.
With CdM up early, Schachter brought in freshman D.J. Rodman, the son of Dennis Rodman, who won a combined five NBA titles during his 14-year playing career.
“First varsity game, you know, it’s scary out there,” Schachter said of the younger Rodman. “From what we’ve seen all summer, and even in the scrimmage [last week against Mission Viejo], he should [play a role for us].
“We need him to be one of our top seven or eight guys if we’re going to be really good.”
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Nonleague
Corona del Mar 57, Tustin 38
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CdM 9 – 9 – 21 – 18 — 57
Tustin 2 – 9 – 11 – 16— 38
CdM – Ctvrtlik 22, Kobrine 17, Garbers 7, Le 6, Coffman 5.
3-pt. goals – Ctvrtlik 1, Kobrine 1.
Fouled out – Haly.
Technicals – None.
T – Moorhouse 10, Kuzay 8, Solofa 6, Simon 6, Shabazz 4, Ullrich 2, Faaseu 2.
3-pt. goals – Kuzay 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
