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BELLFLOWER — Corona del Mar’s boys basketball team arrived at St. John Bosco on Friday winless in the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs but full of pride about its historic season.

Even before the Sea Kings took the court in a play-in game for a berth in the CIF Southern California Regional, they knew the significance of their accomplishments.

First overall Sunset League title in school history. A school record 27 wins. The school’s career scoring leader — and counting — in junior Maxwell Scott. And the No. 8 seed in the Open Division, an elite grouping no Orange County public school team has reached since Esperanza in 2017.

Even a loss against St. John Bosco, a squad featuring a McDonald’s All-American and a blend of speed and defense, wouldn’t change the significance of those feats.

Corona del Mar received the proof arrived with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter. With St. John Bosco well on its way to a 70-42 victory, Corona del Mar’s faithful gave its staters a standing ovation as they exited the floor for the final time for 2025-26.

Corona del Mar junior Maxwell Scott scored 17 points in a 70-42 loss at St. John Bosco in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball playoffs on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo by Dan Albano, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“That was an awesome moment,” said Scott, who made 7 of 14 shots from the floor en route to 17 points. “It was cool to see the community get behind such a special team that did pretty special things this season.”

“We accomplished a lot of our goals,” the guard added. “Play the best we could and win a league title was our goal, and Open just showed how we deserved it.”

The game, which fifth-seeded St. John Bosco (21-9) led 37-26 at halftime, also marked an emotional sendoff for Corona del Mar seniors and captains Oliver Nakra (seven points) and point guard Luke Mirhashemi (eight points).

Nakara was a two-year standout after transferring from Huntington Beach while Mirhashemi played varsity four years.

“That was an emotional goodbye,” Corona del Mar coach Jason Simco said of Mirhashemi. “Arguably my all-time favorite player because of his unselfishness, the way he’ll guard anybody. He’s never asked me to run a play for him.”

“That unselfishness has fed throughout our whole program, and that’s why we play the way we play,” the fifth-year coach added. “Our guys move the ball, they share, they cheer for the next guy to make a shot. And that’s why we’ve been successful. We don’t have the incredible athletes.”

St. John Bosco employed a smaller lineup to defend Corona del Mar (27-4) but still had the height advantage. The 6-foot-9 Collins, a McDonald’s All-American, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds but was held to 11 points thanks to being doubled team by Corona del Mar.

Collins occasionally guarded Scott but the Braves mostly used 6-foot-6 wing Max Ellis against Scott, who became Corona del Mar’s all-time leading scorer on Tuesday at Sierra Canyon.

Ellis, a senior, finished with a game-high 18 points, including four of the Braves’ eight 3-pointers.

Corona del Mar finished with four 3-pointers. They Sea Kings were held to five points in the fourth quarter.

“Our defensive effort was really good,” said St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn, who led the Braves to an Open Division runner-up finish in 2023 and Division I state title in 2024. “That’s as good of shooting team as I’ve ever seen, so we were trying really hard to make them uncomfortable and not let them shoot open 3s.”

“This is the part of this competitive equity that I don’t like,” the coach added. “(Corona del Mar) is the kind of team that deserved to compete for a championship. It’s a great honor for them to play in the Open Division and they earned that.”

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