Northwood routs Corona del Mar to clinch league title

Heading into Thursday night’s road rematch with Northwood High, Corona del Mar coach Ryan Schachter emphasized the need to close out on the defensive boards.

The Sea Kings surrendered 18 second-chance points in their previous meeting with the Timberwolves this season, a 59-51 loss at home. If there was any hope of a revenge victory — and a shot at defending their Pacific Coast League boys’ basketball title — a much sounder effort on the glass was paramount.

Unfortunately for CdM, no such effort was found. As a result, the Timberwolves clinched at least a share of the league championship, their second in three seasons.

Northwood compiled 15 second-chance points, as a promising start for Schachter’s squad unraveled into a 62-36 blowout defeat.

The Timberwolves (20-5, 7-1 in league) are now two games ahead of CdM (15-9, 5-3) with two left in the regular season.

“They were just tougher than us,” Schachter said. “They know how to compete at a higher level than our guys. Balls went up, and they went after them while we waited. According to the score, they’re the best team we’ve played all year. They were tougher, more aggressive and made more plays.”

The game could not have started on a more positive note for the Sea Kings, who jumped ahead on the opening possession courtesy of a Jack Garza three-pointer. The junior big man, who compiled all of his 12 points in the first half, scored the first six points of the contest.

CdM would stretch the lead to 8-0 before allowing Northwood to answer right back, and eventually take complete control.

“It wasn’t looking good at 8-0, but after that, we got rolling,” Northwood coach Tim O’Brien said. “We were letting their height get the best of us and bailing on shots, but eventually we just said let’s turn the corner and go. We had to make them play faster, and that’s what we did.”

Northwood’s Devin Owens connected on a three of his own, before back-to-back layups from Jacob Huynh cut the Sea Kings’ lead down to one by the end of the first quarter.

Kevin Kobrine injected life back into CdM right out of the gates in the second quarter. He stole the ball and finished through contact at the other end, before knocking down a free throw to complete a three-point play. Kobrine finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

On the following possession, the senior guard found Garza in the paint for two points. Garza would pick up another inside bucket moments later, stretching the CdM lead to 13-7.

For the Sea Kings, it was downhill from there. They would score just four more points in the first half, and the Timberwolves took the lead for good on a Damian Pintor three-pointer at the two-minute mark of the second quarter. The senior backcourt duo of Huynh and Owens set the pace offensively with 18 and 17 points, respectively, combining to hit five threes along the way.

“After the first couple went down, I was in a zone,” Owens said. “Then the next one and the next one fell. I was just in a flow.”

A critical sequence occurred with 3:29 left in the first half, as CdM sophomore John Humphreys was called for an offensive foul, his third of the game. Humphreys exited, and Northwood, ranked No. 15 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA poll, capitalized.

Senior guard Brandon Raymundo picked up two points on the other end to spark a 24-0 run for the Timberwolves that spanned midway into the third quarter and put the game away.

“The game was lost in the first quarter,” Schachter said. “We should’ve been up 15-5, 17-5. To me, that’s where the momentum of the game changed. We just have to be better.”

*

Northwood 62, Corona del Mar 36

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Corona del Mar 8 – 9 – 9 – 10 — 36

Northwood 7 – 17 – 19 – 19 — 62

CdM – Kobrine 16, Garza 12, Humphreys 2, Olson 2, Sadeghi 2, Flood 2.

3-pt. goals – Garza 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

N – Huynh 18, Owens 17, Locke 11, Pintor 6, Tafoya 4, Harper 2, Yamato 2, Raymundo 2.

3-pt. goals – Owens 3, Huynh 2, Pintor 2, Locke 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell