Might be worth filling the tank for this Division III-A quarterfinal
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The West Valley boys’ basketball team is making the trip to Corona del Mar tonight for what should be a great Southern Section Division III-A quarterfinal.
I hear the folks from Hemet don’t care how many door dings they get in their Chevy, so Corona del Mar fans better be careful where they park the Benz. Also, don’t even thing about taking up two parking stalls.
Speaking of taking up space, West Valley junior forward Joseph Burton is 6 feet 8, 285 pounds. He’s averaging 21.1 points and 16 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Mustangs.
He’ll have his hands full against No. 4 Corona del Mar and its 6-9 senior center Stefan Kaluz, who came into the playoffs averaging 17.4 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Both players also have strong compliments. Eric Lawton, a 6-1 junior guard for West Valley, is averaging 20.8 points and 5.1 assists. Joe Eberhard, a 6-6 senior forward, came into the playoffs averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds for CdM.
Eberhard is still trying to bounce back from an illness that caused him to miss the final four regular season games, but he scored 15 points in a second-round victory over Sultana.
By the way, this is also a rematch of one of last season’s Division III-A semifinals, won by the Sea Kings, 67-61.
I’m thinking it might be worth driving my over-sized, gas-guzzling Chevy to CdM and taking up two parking stalls.
--Dan Arritt