Newport Harbor beats Corona del Mar for first time since 2005

For the third straight season, the Battle of the Bay boys’ basketball rivalry went down to the wire.

This time, Newport Harbor High won.

Dayne Chalmers’ three-pointer with six seconds to play in the second overtime Thursday night lifted the host Sailors to a 68-67 win, the program’s first victory over Corona del Mar since the 2005-06 season.

Chalmers’ second basket from beyond the arc in the last 40 seconds turned a four-point deficit into a one-point win. The junior finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, helping Newport Harbor, ranked No. 15 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A poll, end a nine-game losing streak to CdM.

The Sailors (8-3) celebrated — with much of their home crowd storming the court — when John Humphreys’ drive to the hoop for a CdM winner fell from the rim at the buzzer.

It was an appropriately dramatic finish to a stunning encounter in which both teams hit buzzer-beating three-pointers to force extra periods.

Humphreys, a sophomore guard, scored a game-high 25 points and standout senior Kevin Kobrine scored 14 of his 23 points in the overtime periods for CdM (7-3), No. 12 in Division 2AA. The Sea Kings had claimed last-second victories the past two seasons against the Sailors.

“I got nothing,” Newport Harbor coach Bob Torribio said after finally taking down the Sea Kings. “Kids made plays. I don’t know why [Sea Kings coach Ryan Schachter] and I showed up tonight. We should have stayed home, had pizza, and somebody could have let us know the final, because that’s two teams, two neighborhood teams, battling and having fun and just playing.”

CdM had the biggest lead, at 21-12, after scoring the first 11 points of the second quarter, but the Sailors had climbed within four by halftime. Nobody led by more than five the rest of way.

The lead changed hands 10 times, and both teams were on the verge of victory before long-range shots sunk their advantages.

Sam Barela came up huge at the end of regulation. Jake Hamilton made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left to push the Sea Kings’ lead to three points, but Barela hit nothing but net from 38 feet as the buzzer sounded to make it 48-48.

Kobrine’s dunk off the overtime tip-off sent CdM ahead again, but the Sailors went on a 9-4 tear, with Brad Siegel scoring three points and feeding Robbie Spooner for a 57-54 advantage with 13 seconds to go. Hamilton’s long-range three-pointer then fell off target, but Newport Harbor turned the ball over immediately afterward, giving the Sea Kings the ball with 1.8 seconds to go.

Kobrine’s three-pointer off the inbounds pass banked in, forcing the second overtime. His older brother, Sam, hit a game-winning three-pointer late to beat the Sailors 51-48 in 2015-16.

The Sea Kings looked like they were on their way to winning at Newport Harbor again.

CdM surged by four points as Humphreys and Kobrine scored underneath, and Kobrine’s three-point play answered Will Harvey’s three-pointer for a 64-60 lead. Barela cut the deficit to two with a drive to the hoop, but Humphreys’ off-balance bank shot from eight feet made it 66-62.

Then Chalmers took over. He hit a three-pointer with 40 seconds to go to make it a one-point game. The Sailors fouled Ben Coffman with 24 seconds left, but he made just one of two free throws, and Chalmers’ next three-pointer provided the lead.

After a timeout, Humphreys took the inbounds pass and raced up court. He drove the lane and shot over a defender, but the ball bounced off the glass and rim and to the floor.

Kobrine had a game-high 11 rebounds and Jack Garza grabbed nine for CdM. Siegel scored 14 points with nine rebounds and Harvey added 12 points and seven boards for the Sailors.

“Humphreys is a tremendous athlete, a great kid, and he had the right take there,” Torribio said. “In a game like this, really the last team that had the ball is probably going to come out on top. They had it last. They had a good look, [and] it didn’t go in. He’s a tremendous player. He’ll get that shot again, and he’ll make it.”

SCOTT FRENCH is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottJFrench