Sea View League Roundup : Saddleback Finally Stops Corona del Mar

For a little more than two quarters, an onslaught on the offensive rebounds helped Corona del Mar keep pace with Saddleback, the No. 1-ranked high school basketball team in the county.

But a blistering shooting night for the Roadrunners (22-1, 8-0) proved too much for host Corona del Mar and Saddleback prevailed, 62-50, Friday in front of 450.

The Sea Kings (13-8, 4-4) trailed only 27-25 at the half and were still in the game despite shooting 28% from the field to Saddleback’s 63% and despite the loss of center Brian Spratt. He left the game with his third foul three minutes into the second quarter.

Corona del Mar had 17 rebounds, 11 of them offensive, to Saddleback’s 16 in the first half.

Saddleback was “a little out of sync” the first half with starter Craig Marshall on the bench with a sprained ankle, Coach Patt Quinn said.

But Saddleback center Malru Dottin picked up the slack, scoring 16 points in the first half, 12 in the first quarter. He ended with 26 points.

Corona del Mar tied the score, 29-29, on Warren Johnson’s two free throws with a little less than 5 minutes to play in the third quarter.

Saddleback went on a 7-2 run to make the score, 36-31, and the game was never close again.

Corona del Mar made it interesting in the fourth quarter with Matt Cwiertnia hitting two three-point shots, but Saddleback made eight of nine free throws down the stretch.

Newport Harbor 52, Estancia 51--Paig Parish scored on a layup with 4 seconds left to give host Newport Harbor (13-10, 2-6) an upset. Estancia (17-5, 4-4) took the lead for the first time, 51-50, on a basket by Mike Curtis with 34 seconds left in the game. But Newport Harbor’s Chris Lee drove the lane and passed off to Parish for the winning basket. Newport is 13-10, 2-6.