CIF SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS:Sea Kings earn No. 4 seed

LOS ALAMITOS — On his way to learn whom he’d coach against in the playoffs, Corona del Mar High’s Ryan Schachter found out before making it to Sunday’s basketball pairings announcement.

No one.

Schachter didn’t need to leave his Costa Mesa home to figure it out and drive to the CIF Southern Section headquarters in Los Alamitos, where dozens of eager coaches awaited news of their first-round draws.

Assistant Coach Jason Simco told Schachter that the Sea Kings earned a first-round bye and a No. 4 seed, way before most coaches in the Division III-A bracket knew.

How? Simco just checked the Internet, beating coaches at the CIF office to the info scheduled to be released between 1:40 and 2 p.m.

“I picked up Coach Simco to come here and he had [the pairings]. He said, ‘Here we go!’ ” Schachter said of the news that CdM joined No. 1-seeded Serrano, No. 3-seeded Cathedral City and No. 5-seeded Laguna Beach as the only Division III-A schools awarded first-round byes. “I didn’t even know they were online. I hadn’t checked.

“You still have to come because you have to pick up the tickets, and you have fun talking to coaches.”

Schachter and Simco mingled, talking about leading the Sea Kings (18-7), ranked No. 5 in the final CIF Division III-A poll, to the playoffs after claiming a share of the Pacific Coast League title in their first year at CdM.

Happy to socialize also were Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst, Sage Hill School Coach Steve Keith and Costa Mesa Coach Jeff McDaniel, whose respective teams qualified for the postseason.

A coin-flip went against Newport Harbor (14-11), putting it in a Division I-A wild-card game at home Wednesday against Riverside’s Poly (14-12) at 7:30 p.m. But it didn’t bum out Hirst, whose Sailors tied for second in the Sunset League with Edison.

Keith couldn’t argue against his Lightning (13-12) receiving the No. 16 seed and a home game against Redlands Adventist Academy (15-9) in the Division IV-AA first round Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Sage Hill finished third in the Academy League and is thrilled to be back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

In his first year as a varsity coach, Jeff McDaniel saw Costa Mesa enter the Division III-A playoffs as an at-large team. The Mustangs (17-10) open the first round at Hesperia’s Sultana (16-11) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Finding McDaniel in the throng of coaches proved troublesome for Schachter. He wanted to congratulate McDaniel for the solid job he did at his former school.

Before Schachter took the Sea Kings’ job this season, he coached Costa Mesa for two years, first leading it to its first postseason victory in 42 years and then its second league title in 46 years.

Schachter’s success has carried over to CdM, which shared the league crown with Laguna Hills this season as both finished 7-1 in league.

“It’s been fulfilling, definitely a change in styles of coaching,” said Schachter, who replaced the retired Ryan Curry. “I think the kids responded. They are starting to understand where Coach Simco and I are trying to take them. It’s hard to say if they’re happy about [the coaching change]. I haven’t asked them if they are happy or not.

“They’re competing and they are in a position to win CIF, so they have to be happy about that, regardless of who’s coaching them.”

One CdM player who’s delighted is Stefan Kaluz.

An opening-round bye allows the 6-foot-9 center to rest an injured ankle before the Sea Kings play at home in the second round Friday. The junior, who leads the team averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, has played in pain since getting hurt in practice two weeks ago.

CdM plays the winner of Wednesday’s Whittier (11-16) at Palm Springs (16-7) first-round game. The game shouldn’t create problems for the Sea Kings, who played a demanding nonleague schedule, with games against Mission Viejo, Oxnard, Pacific Palisades and Inglewood, all legit playoff contenders.

“We’ve been tested,” said Schachter, whose team beat Mission Viejo, ranked No. 9 in Division I-AA. “We’ve played probably the toughest schedule in our division. I think we’ve got a good shot.”

For Newport Harbor to reach the top, it’s going to start from the bottom. Literally. As of late Sunday, Hirst knew nothing about Poly, only that the school is from Riverside.

Poly, one of 16 at-large teams in Division I-A, played in the competitive Ivy League, which features Martin Luther King (24-3), ranked No. 2 in the division. The Bears, who finished fourth in league, have dropped eight of their last nine games.

Hirst, guiding the Sailors in their 11th straight postseason, elected to rest his starters in the regular-season finale against league champ Los Alamitos.

With 6-8 junior center Kyle Caldwell’s foot still bothering him, Newport Harbor is forced to play Wednesday instead of Friday.

“I would rather play Wednesday because it would be more of typical week for us, having the opportunity to play two games during the week instead of just one,” Hirst said. “Our big kid got a chance to rest his foot, and we thought it was more important that he was able to before the playoffs.”

Caldwell will need to be ready. Poly has some size, boasting two 6-7 players to combat Caldwell and 6-7 forward Weston Dunlap.

The other two local programs — Sage Hill and Costa Mesa — lack that kind of size, but don’t count them out.

The Lightning and Mustangs have shown spurts of dominance, until the two hit roadblocks at the end of league play. Sage Hill placed third in the Academy League and Costa Mesa was third in the Orange Coast League.

Sage Hill boasts a starting lineup featuring five underclassmen, with juniors guard Jamie McGee and Nick Witte leading the way.

When Witte hits the court against Redlands Adventist, the third-place team out of the Victory League, Keith will be happy he’s just on the court.

“He actually played every game. He has never come close to doing that in his first two years,” said Keith of Witte, who has had shoulder problems. “For him to make it through the whole season was just a blessing for us. Without him healthy, there’s no way we’d be here.”

Without Larry Puente, Costa Mesa probably wouldn’t be in the postseason. The 6-4 senior has done it all, scoring, rebounding, passing, stealing, and blocking shots for the Mustangs.

Sultana has three scorers averaging in double figures.