Prep Basketball : Sea View League : Sea Kings Gain With 56-54 Win

Where else but in the Sea View League will one find a basketball coach expounding upon his team’s chances of reaching the Southern Section playoffs after it won only one game in the first round of play?

That’s exactly what Steve Scoggins, University coach, was doing Wednesday night after the Trojans lost to Corona del Mar, 56-54, on a pair of free throws by forward Matt Cwiertnia with 14 seconds remaining.

Depending upon how you look at it, the loss either left the Trojans (9-11, 1-4) in last place or only one game out of third place behind Estancia and Corona del Mar in the six-team league.

“If we go back and beat Estancia and Corona del Mar in the second round, we’re in third place,” Scoggins said. “I figure there’s going to be four teams (Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Estancia and University) battling for third, and if any of them beat Tustin or Saddleback, they’ve got the upper hand.”

Corona del Mar gained the upper hand against the Trojans with the fine defensive play of Cwiertnia. He limited the Trojans’ high-scoring forward, Steve Stolzoff, to only three points on one of five shots. Stolzoff came into the game averaging 21.4 points and shooting 57% from the field.

“The key to the game was holding down Stolzoff and Matt nearly shut him out,” said Paul Orris, Corona del Mar coach. “We’re back in the thick of the race, but I think University is in deep trouble.”

Corona del Mar (11-8, 2-3) opened a 12-point lead in the third quarter on a three-point play by guard Geoff Probst and appeared to be in control with a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

But the Trojans, sparked by the play of guard David Dieter, trimmed the Sea Kings’ lead to 54-52 with 41 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws by Dieter. Corona del Mar missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities in the last quarter.

“We could have put them away, but we missed those free throws,” Orris said. “I think we’re getting better, but we’re still making some stupid mistakes.”

Matt Herrington led the Sea Kings with 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Probst added 15 points and 6 assists. Junior center Stefan Mumaw paced University with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks.

Tustin 37, Newport Harbor 27--Cheavly Ly had a game-high 13 points as the Tillers (17-3, 5-0) remained atop the league standings. Leo Parker, Tustin’s leading scorer, scored only six points in a slow-paced game. Tyler Koon had 10 points and Jim Geerlings 9 for Newport Harbor (13-8, 1-4).

Saddleback 61, Estancia 36--Guard Craig Marshall scored 22 points and limited Estancia’s Mike Curtis to only eight as the Roadrunners (16-4, 4-1) remained in second place.