San Diego Prep Basketball : BOYS 3-A: Only Surprise About Poway Is Its Final Opponent

Last season, a young Poway High School basketball team surprised a lot of people when it beat Sweetwater, Mira Mesa and Patrick Henry to win the San Diego Section 3-A championship.

A year later, it would be a surprise if Poway did not repeat.

The Titans (23-1) face Morse (15-6), the upset team of the 1985 playoffs, in tonight’s 3-A title game at 8:30 in the San Diego Sports Arena.

Poway defeated Morse, 89-51, in an early season game played at Poway. Morse played without three of its starters, including leading scorer Paul Bryant.

“We gained control pretty early, and we had things under control the whole game,” Poway Coach Neville Saner said. “I’m sure Morse is a lot better than they were.”

Just ask Monte Vista and Patrick Henry how much the Tigers have improved.

Relying on its running game, Morse upset Monte Vista, 76-57, in a first-round playoff game at Monte Vista. After losing two close games to Patrick Henry during the regular season, the Tigers rebounded to beat the Patriots, 71-64, Friday night.

In both games, Morse played without Chris Jeter, its 6-foot 10-inch starting center. Jeter has an ankle injury and probably will not play tonight.

Without Jeter, the Tigers have been running even more than usual. Bryant scored 29 and 16 points in the playoff wins, and Deshang Weaver came off the bench to score 18 against Patrick Henry.

“We’ve always been a pretty good playoff team,” Morse Coach Ron Davis said. “The important thing is that we have to continue to do the things that got us here. We have to play under control and with a lot of poise.”

To win the championship, the Tigers also have to hope the Titans are not on top of their game.

“Poway is physical, quick and much bigger than us,” Davis said. “We don’t match up very well with them.”

Davis echoed the sentiments of many coaches when he ranked the Titans as the best team in the county this season. Poway cruised through the regular season, losing only to Torrey Pines in a game in which center John Colborne did not play.