Kobrine’s 26 points not enough for CdM against Orange Lutheran

Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball coach Ryan Schachter did not speak toward a particular goal that his team wanted to accomplish in the Charlie Wilkins Memorial Tournament.

For now, Schachter just wants his team to compete and see where it finds itself at the end of tournament play this winter.

Some, including senior star Kevin Kobrine, consider that to be sage advice, considering that CdM boasts a number of multisport athletes.

Looking at examples like sophomore football standout John Humphreys and himself, Kobrine, a UCLA commit for volleyball, noted that the team has been practicing as a whole for just two weeks.

CdM has to contend with effort right now, while the execution will surely come with more time together on the court.

The Sea Kings met the compete-level expectations of their coach on Thursday night, but a big first-quarter deficit was too much to recover from for CdM in a 63-51 loss in the quarterfinals to Orange Lutheran at Westminster High.

“I thought we were a little shell-shocked after the first eight minutes,” Schachter said. “We settled in, and I thought we played real hard. I was real proud of the guys’ effort. We competed.

“We didn’t play great, but credit the [Orange Lutheran] defense. They kind of gave us disruption and affected what we were trying to do.”

Josh Griffin scored a team-high 16 points for the Lancers (3-5), connecting on four three-pointers. He helped Orange Lutheran establish a 19-6 lead after the first quarter by scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes.

“The past couple of games, I’ve been kind of timid to do something,” Griffin said. “I was just trying to learn how to play free. If I’m going to shoot, then I’m going to shoot.

“It makes the biggest difference. When I don’t think about shooting or I don’t think about where I am on the court, when I shoot that, I usually make it.”

Cade Potter had 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for the Lancers, and Trey Anderson added 11 points, five assists and five rebounds.

After falling behind early, CdM (5-2) narrowly outscored Orange Lutheran in both the second and the third quarters. Kobrine, who had a game-high 26 points, was relied on heavily. He connected on 12 of 15 free throws, adding six rebounds and four steals.

“Sometimes, when Kevin gets the ball, the guys just kind of stop,” Schachter said. “You’ve got to keep playing because he’s a willing passer.

“We try to get shooters the ball, we try to get the ball inside and attack the rim with different guys. We weren’t very good at it.”

The Sea Kings twice cut the Lancers’ lead to eight in the third quarter, but that was as close as CdM would get. Orange Lutheran executed enough in its press break to keep a CdM comeback from taking shape.

Jack Stone had 10 points with two three-pointers for the Sea Kings. Humphreys added six points and five rebounds, and Ben Coffman chipped in across the board with four points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

CdM will continue tournament play with a matchup against Buena Park (7-2) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The Coyotes have defeated Orange Lutheran, Laguna Beach and Saddleback in the tournament.

“I think they came out and just played better,” Kobrine said of the Lancers. “They made a lot of shots. In the second and third quarter, we started playing better, but with such a slow start, we couldn’t recover from there.

“Our full team, we’ve only been playing basketball together for a couple of weeks. I think as the season progresses, we’re going to be a lot better.”

*

Orange Lutheran 63, Corona del Mar 51

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Orange Lutheran 19 – 13 – 13 – 18 — 63

Corona del Mar 6 – 16 – 14 – 15 — 51

OL – Griffin 16, Potter 13, Anderson 11, Jervis 8, Pope 7, King 3, Warner 3, Knibb 2.

3-pt. goals – Griffin 4, King 1, Warner 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

CdM – Kobrine 26, Stone 10, Humphreys 6, Garza 5, Coffman 4.

3-pt. goals – Stone 2, Coffman 1, Garza 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner