CdM boys' basketball blasts rival Newport Harbor, stays unbeaten in Sunset League

Corona del Mar’s Oliver Nakra (4) drives to the basket for a layup during the Battle of the Bay boys’ basketball game against Newport Harbor on Friday. Legendary former late UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden is credited with saying, “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” Big things can happen when talented players don’t care who makes the shot. That has certainly been true this season for the Corona del Mar boys’ basketball team. The Sea Kings routed rival Newport Harbor 70-42 in the first Battle of the Bay meeting on Friday night, finishing the first half of Sunset League play with a perfect 6-0 mark. Senior guard Oliver Nakra led CdM with 23 points, but four other players also scored in double figures, with senior point guard Luke Mirhashemi and junior Ryan Mansouri each contributing 11 points, and junior Maxwell Scott and senior Aiden Cole both scoring 10. CdM finished the first half of league play a game ahead of Los Alamitos (5-1 in league), and two ahead of Edison (4-2). The Sea Kings (21-1 overall) flew around the court. In one particular flurry late in the third quarter, Nakra made two three-pointers, including one from the corner assisted by Scott, and Cole also drained a triple from downtown. Corona del Mar outscored Newport Harbor 26-10 in that third quarter, putting the game out of reach. “They’re just some of the most unselfish guys you would ever meet,” CdM coach Jason Simco said of his players, who led the Sailors by as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter. “They’re happy for the next guy to get a shot. Sometimes we over-pass, which is a great thing. It’s probably why we’ve had so much success this year. It’s a really special team.” Mirhashemi has always proven to be up for the moment in Battle of the Bay games. He scored nine points in the first 11 minutes of the game, including two makes from downtown. He said motivation is not hard to find when going against Newport Harbor. “My whole family went to CdM, so they hate Harbor,” Mirhashemi said. “They kind of put it on me, where I hate Harbor too. They’re obviously very well-coached, so it’s one of those games where you have to bring your best or else they’re going to get you. If you don’t come out with a hot start, they keep hanging around, then it comes down to the fourth quarter and they can get you.” Newport Harbor fell to 14-8 overall, and 1-5 in league. Senior forward Owen Saukkola paced the Sailors with 14 points, and junior guard Marcel Aguilar added 13. The relatively inexperienced Sailors hope for better fortune in the second half of league. Though Friday night’s loss was lopsided, their first three league losses — at home against Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Edison — were only by a combined eight points. “Every night’s a battle,” Sailors coach Bob Torribio said. “I think sometimes we get distracted by results, and as much as we’d love to be on the other end, we’re excited for the second half [of league]. We know the season starts over. If we [were winning], we’d still have to compete in the second half of league. Corona del Mar is 6-0, but you know what, they know that next week they’re going to have to compete at the same level.” Newport Harbor begins the second half of league at Huntington Beach on Monday, while CdM plays at Fountain Valley. Simco knows his team can’t get complacent. He remembers his junior year as a player at Estancia in 1998-99, when the Eagles went 5-0 in the first half of Pacific Coast League play only to go 1-4 in the second half. That message of keeping the intensity up is not lost on the Sea Kings. Nakra has his own, more recent memory. Last year, the Sea Kings beat Marina and Fountain Valley in the first half of league, only to lose to the Vikings and Barons the second time around. “Anyone can win any night in this league,” Nakra said. “We just have to make sure we stay level-headed.”