SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 3-A : CdM Puts Brakes to Valencia : Sea Kings Slow Down Burbank to Reach Quarterfinals, 68-50

Two of the top defensive teams in Orange County played Wednesday in the second round of the 3-A Southern Section playoffs, and, in the end, it was the overall quickness of Corona del Mar High School that made the difference. The Sea Kings beat Valencia, 68-50, in front of 2,000 at El Dorado High School.

The Sea Kings (23-6), champions of the Sea View League and seeded fourth in their division, advance to play Etiwanda (25-3) in the quarterfinals.

Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris expected a low-scoring and controlled-tempo game, and was happy to get the victory.

“Quickness is our strength,” he said, “and tonight we played smart and just took advantage of what they gave us.”

Corona del Mar led the entire game, but knew the key would be stopping Valencia center Dennis Burbank. Sea King forward Chris Burns kept Burbank out of the Tiger offense, limiting him to nine points.

Corona del Mar’s Markus Muller-Stach was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points, but the play of Burns, who added 13 points, was the difference.

“Burns did a great job on Burbank,” Orris said. “All he has done is play great defense all year. We emphasized to Burns to make Burbank work for his shots.”

The Tigers (19-6), who tied Brea-Olinda and Magnolia for the Orange League championship, were tentative from the start. Valencia committed 9 first half turnovers, 17 overall. The Tigers trailed at halftime, 35-22.

Valencia cut the lead to seven, 35-28, early in the third quarter, but the Sea Kings pulled away early in the fourth and led by as many as 20 points with six minutes to play.

“We did not play well,” Valencia Coach Ray Rodriguez said. “You can’t fall behind a team like Corona del Mar. They just took things away from us with their quickness.”

Valencia was led by Bernie James and Pat Hernandez, with 12 points each.