ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Boys’ Roundup : Woodbridge Can’t Handle CdM Pressure

If nothing else, Bill Shannon, Woodbridge High School coach, proved that he’s pretty good at predicting the outcome of his team’s games.

Just minutes before Woodbridge met Corona del Mar in its final tuneup before Pacific Coast League play begins, Shannon expressed some concern about the Sea Kings’ full-court press.

“If we can get the ball past midcourt, I think we can win the game,” Shannon said. “But I’m not sure if we can handle Corona’s press.”

Shannon was right. The Warriors crumbled against the Sea Kings’ backcourt pressure and were routed, 70-49, Friday night. Woodbridge committed 21 turnovers and most came in its backcourt.

Corona del Mar (13-4) put the game out of reach in the third quarter when it outscored Woodbridge, 23-10. The Sea Kings gave a preview of things to come when they stole the ball four consecutive times in the second quarter and turned the mistakes into easy baskets en route to a 29-22 halftime lead.

“A large part of our game is the press,” said Paul Orris, Corona del Mar coach. “We use it to create things, control the tempo and force turnovers. I also thought our half-court defense was very good. Our objective was to let Woodbridge shot outside and make Keefe work for his points.”

In the third quarter, the Sea Kings made 10 of 15 shots to open a 20-point lead. Center Kevin O’Neil scored his only points on a wild hook shot to put Corona del Mar ahead, 44-30.

“Their pressure did more to effect us mentally than anything else,” Shannon said. “All of a sudden, my players forgot where to go and what to do. They forgot everything we had practiced for the past four days.”

Woodbridge (10-4) looked more like a very ordinary team than one picked to win the Southern Section’s 2-A division. Only junior forward Adam Keefe played well, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Despite the lopsided victory, there was an anxious moment for Corona del Mar. The Sea Kings’ best player, Markus Muller-Stach, injured his left ankle with 3:08 remaining in the first half and played only sparingly in the second half.

Muller-Stach broke his right ankle during his sophomore year and limped through most of last season.

“He told me it felt the same tonight as it did when he broke his ankle the last time,” Orris said. “We got nervous when he went down, but our trainer says it’s just a bad sprain.”

Forward Chris Burns adequately replaced Muller-Stach, scoring 18 points and guard Darren Morris added 15.