Coast Christmas Tournament : Dominguez Works Inside to Defeat Corona del Mar, 74-48

A perimeter team ran into one that shoots from both the inside and outside in the final of the Coast Christmas tournament, and predictably it was the more versatile squad that won the championship.

With the ability to work the ball inside pretty much when it wanted, Dominguez High School downed Corona del Mar, 74-48, in a game that helped demonstrate just why the Dons advanced to last season’s CIF Southern Section 4-A final.

Getting balanced scoring from its five starters, the Dons used a zone defense most of the game to keep the Sea Kings away from the basket and eventually walked away with a game that was only close for a half.

“We’re playing a little better,” Dominguez Coach Ernest Carr said. “In the first two games, we got the pace that we wanted and then we picked up the tempo against Estancia (in a semifinal game). Then tonight, outside of Jeff Fryer, nobody really hurt us.”

Fryer scored 26 to lead the Sea Kings, but he didn’t get much help on this occasion. The Corona del Mar senior forward played a good game, scoring from inside and out, but his teammates didn’t have much luck trying to penetrate the Dons’ zone.

At times, however, it seemed as if it were a game of one-on-five, with Fryer scoring 19 of his team’s 23 first-half points. Fryer did more than his share, but in the third quarter he scored only two points, and there wasn’t anyone else to pick up the slack.

Said Corona del Mar Coach Jack Errion: “We did all right, but our defense broke down. We were giving them too many good shots. They’re a good team, though. They’ve got five or six players who can shoot the ball well, so you can’t concentrate on just one scorer.”

Led by guard Marlon Vaughn, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, the Dons jumped out to a 30-23 halftime lead and then broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Sea Kings, 21-12.

Despite the 26-point loss, Corona del Mar (10-2) will still be considered one of the the early favorites for the Sea View League title and should be among the 10 best teams in the county going into league play.

Dominguez improved its record to 8-4.

Estancia 66, Mission Viejo 54--Guard Kyle Mooney scored 15 points to lead the Eagles to the victory in the third-place game. Craig Covey added 12 points and Brian Tift and Fernie Trejo scored 10 apiece for the Eagles. The Diablos’ Jeff Herdman led all scorers with 28 points.

Edison 74, Huntington Beach 42--The Chargers took a 32-14 halftime lead and were never threatened in this fifth-place game. Ken Ammann and Rich Smith led Edison with 16 points each.

Santa Ana Valley 61, Irvine 46--Alonzo Jamison scored 35 points to lead the Falcons to the win in the consolation championship. Shawn Patchell paced Irvine with 16 points.