Sea Kings slam Eagles

CORONA DEL MAR — Coach Ryan Schachter repeated the same sentence and it felt good each time.

"We're healthy," Schachter said with a smile. "We're healthy.

"We had everything. You name it. We had it."

After the flu and cold last week wrecked its outright Pacific Coast League title and No. 3 seed in the playoffs, the Corona del Mar High boys' basketball team just got sick of losing.

The Sea Kings found the best cure Wednesday. They won, ending a two-game skid.

Fifth-seeded CdM got better in a hurry at home. The Sea Kings opened the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs with a 64-40 rout of Santa Margarita in the first round.

Schachter saw CdM (18-9) compete on both ends of the court, more importantly on defense.

The Sea Kings smothered Santa Margarita, an at-large entry into the playoffs from the competitive Trinity League. Eleven points is what CdM held the Eagles to at halftime.

The visitors took their time returning to the gym for the second half. Some fans wondered if the Eagles (13-14) jumped on the bus and headed home.

The game was over after CdM led, 35-11, through 16 minutes.

The Sea Kings move on to the second round Friday, when they play host to Kennedy (21-6) at 7 p.m. Kennedy defeated Magnolia, 57-52, in double overtime Wednesday.

The next matchup for CdM cannot come fast enough for Marcus Bradley.

The forward will be playing in his first second-round playoff game of his career. The 6-foot-6 senior dunked his way there, finishing with a game-high 21 points, a handful coming on jams.

"This is the first time that I've been past the first round, so I knew I had to play aggressive," said Bradley, a transfer from Beaumont High, who also played at Redlands East Valley High as a freshman.

"Everyone is feeling a lot better. We just knew we had to come out and play, because the last two games that we played [and lost], if we played anything close to that we would've been done [in the playoffs]."

Losing sole possession of a league crown last week is now in the rearview mirror for Bradley and the Sea Kings.

The goal now is to contend for a section title. Bradley said if CdM continues its play it can make it all the way to the championship.

The return of point guard Clayton Ragsdale and forward Andrew McCormack gave the Sea Kings a boost in their first step to reaching the big stage.