CdM hopes best yet to come

Barry Faulkner

With just one win in 10 contests last season, the Corona del Mar

High boys basketball team landed at the bottom of the Pacific Coast

League standings. This season, however, some believe Coach Ryan

Curry’s Sea Kings bottomed out in December and with three wins in

their last four games, may be ready to challenge for one of the

league’s three guaranteed spots in the CIF Southern Section Playoffs.

The aforementioned low point came Dec. 26 when a 10:30 a.m. game

in the Estancia Coast Classic ended in a surprising 43-41 loss to

Anaheim, which entered the contest with a 1-10 record. The defeat,

which began with a scoreless streak of 6:29, before CdM cut into what

was then a 10-0 Colonists’ lead, capped a five-game losing skid. But

it also seemed to revitalize Curry’s veteran unit, which returned six

of the top seven players from the team that finished 5-22 in 2001-02.

After the Anaheim loss, the Sea Kings knocked off Rancho Alamitos,

La Quinta and Hoover of Glendale to win the Coast Classic consolation

crown. They then followed a 38-37 nonleague loss to always-tough

Esperanza with a 62-54 conquest of Canyon in the final tuneup before

opening league play Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Laguna Beach.

Curry has praised his team’s development from a year ago,

particularly at the defensive end, where his offseason emphasis has

paid dividends. Through the first 16 games last season (in which the

Sea Kings were 3-13), CdM allowed opponents to average 65.9 points

per game. After 16 games this season, the opposition is scoring just

54.6 points per game. The fewest points allowed by CdM in the first

16 games last season was 53. This season, Curry’s crew has held

opponents in the 40s four times and in the 30s twice, including a

single-game low of 36 in the aforementioned Coast Classic win over La

Quinta.

Offensively, CdM are led by junior Pancho Seaborn (12.9 points per

game), though senior Kevin Mancillas, a second-team all-league

performer as a junior, (10.5 ppg), junior point guard Jay Northridge

(7.8 ppg) and senior Brett Matsen (7.4 ppg) have also helped the Sea

Kings approach offensive balance. All four have led the team in

scoring in at least one game. In addition, junior guard Adam Freede

(four times), senior Bart Welch (once) and senior Brandon

Sherick-Odom (once) have scored in double figures.

Defending champion Northwood (11-3), which won all 10 league games

last season, is the clear-cut favorite to top this year’s standings.

Coach Tim O’Brien’s Timberwolves are led by the powerful senior

tandem of Drew Terry and Rob Selway. Terry shared league MVP honors

with Costa Mesa’s David Conte (now at Cal State Los Angeles) last

season, while Selway was a first-team All-PCL performer. Terry was a

first-team all-league choice as a sophomore, when Selway collected

second-team recognition. The T-wolves losses are to Woodbridge,

Lincoln of San Diego and Villa Park.

University (9-6) just might give Northwood a run. Five of the

Trojans’ losses have come by a combined 16 points and Coach Mike

Dinneen’s run-and-gun attack has two players averaging more than 20

points. Jon Anson, a 6-2 junior guard, is averaging 23.2 ppg,

including 49 three-pointers. A.J. Moskus, a 6-2 junior forward, is

chipping in 21.1 points and nine rebounds per game. Both were

first-team all-league as sophomores.

In addition, 6-3 junior Charles Valentine is contributing 13.8 ppg

and 7.2 rpg for the Trojans.

Calvary Chapel (6-10), runner-up to Orange Lutheran in the Olympic

League last season, joins CdM, Tesoro and Laguna Beach in the chase

pack. The Eagles, however, have already lost to CdM (72-68 in a Dec.

13 tournament game) and Tesoro (59-41 in a Dec. 30 tournament

meeting).

Calvary is led by 5-10 senior guard Joey James (12.4 ppg), while 6-2 senior David Mamelli (9.9 ppg) and 5-10 senior Jared Hurst (8.9

ppg) are additional threats.

Tesoro, in its first varsity season, is led a trio of

underclassmen. Pat Marion, a 6-1 sophomore, is averaging 13.6 points,

followed by 6-1 sophomore Brett Sherry (9.8 ppg) and 6-6 freshman

James Cawthorne (8.8 ppg). Shane Keough, the son of former Corona del

Mar High standout and former major league pitcher Matt Keough, is

scoring 7.9 ppg for the Titans.

Laguna Beach senior Kyle Hogan, a transfer from Villa Park, makes

the Breakers a dangerous spoiler. The 6-6 Hogan is averaging 22.3

points and 9.3 rebounds. Adding punch for Coach Rob Cullinan’s unit

is senior Alex Norfleet (8.1 ppg) and 6-4 junior center Spencer

Willhoit (7.8 ppg).

After opening Wednesday at Laguna Beach, CdM hosts Tesoro. If the

Sea Kings can emerge 2-0, they would confirm their status as

upper-division contenders. After visiting University Jan. 22, CdM

finishes out the first round Jan. 24 at Calvary Chapel and Jan. 29

against visiting Northwood.

The Sea Kings opened league 0-5 last season, before knocking off

fifth-place Laguna Beach, then closing with four straight league

losses.

Northwood and Uni square off Jan. 24 at Northwood and Feb. 11 at

University.