Corcoran Eliminates Sea Kings : Division IV boys: After winning a Southern Section title, Corona del Mar lets down, loses in first round of regionals.

Corona del Mar suffered from a severe case of Post Southern Section Championship Letdown in the opening round of the Southern California Division IV boys’ regional playoffs Tuesday night.

The Sea Kings were coming off a 47-46 victory over Playa del Rey St. Bernard in the Southern Section Division IV-AA championship game. They certainly didn’t look ready to play in the regionals.

The result was a 60-55 loss to visiting Corcoran, a cotton-growing community 30 miles south of Fresno.

Corcoran (22-6) made three big three-point shots in the fourth quarter and then hit 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch to advance to the semifinals Thursday against Gardena Serra (23-7).

“It was difficult getting refocused after Friday night,” Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris said. “I almost declined the invite to the regionals. Half the kids didn’t want to play and our practice (Monday)looked like nobody was interested.”

Consequently, Corona del Mar (17-13) will have to be content with the sectional title while Corcoran continues its best season since the school opened in 1934-35. The Panthers were playing without their leading scorer, Larry Luna, who sprained his right ankle in the Central Section championship game against Fresno Garces. Forward Ryan Butler picked up the slack, scoring 17 points and making the biggest play of the game.

Butler hit a three-point shot with 3 minutes 6 seconds remaining and was fouled by Corona del Mar’s Ramin Bastani. He made the free throw to give Corcoran a 50-44 lead and Corona del Mar never recovered.

“Butler hits the three and the free throw, and the game’s over,” Corcoran Coach Mark Hatton said. “We couldn’t seem to get open for three-point shots in the first half, but we sure hit them when we needed them in the fourth quarter.”

Afterward, Orris had mixed emotions about the outcome and the Sea Kings’ season.

“I’m going to try and not let one bad exhibition spoil a great season,” he said. “We certainly didn’t play like CIF (Southern Section) champions tonight. Corcoran is a nice team, but they’re certainly not world beaters.”