High School Basketball : Torrey Pines Stops Poway’s Offense for First Palomar Title

The Poway High School boys’ basketball team succeeds and fails by its outside shooting.

Tuesday night, the Titans failed.

Top-ranked Torrey Pines applied a tough zone defense to shut down Poway’s top shooter and registered a 79-67 victory, clinching its first Palomar League title.

“That’s one of the best shooting teams you’ll ever see,” John Farrell, Torrey Pines’ coach, said of Poway. “But it’s tough to shoot when someone’s in your face.”

Torrey Pines looked vulnerable and trailed, 13-10, after the first quarter. That’s when Farrell switched to a 1-1-3 zone.

With guards Tom Underwood and Kevin Friel pressuring the perimeter, Poway’s best shooter, Dave Delaney, was unable to find the range.

And when Poway was able to get the ball inside, Torrey Pines’s 6-foot 7-inch Courtie Miller, 6-9 Kevin Flanagan and 7-0 Neal Pollard put up a defensive wall that kept the Titans from scoring.

The result was an erratic shooting night for fourth-ranked Poway (18-4, 8-3). Delaney, who entered the game as San Diego County’s sixth-leading scorer with a 22.3 average, scored 15. Eight of his points came in the final quarter when the game was all but decided.

Poway’s Adam Jones scored 10 points in the first period but was held to 4 after Torrey Pines’ defensive adjustment.

Only Ty Nichols was unaffected. He made six three-pointers and finished with 22 points.

Thanks to Underwood’s steady hand, Torrey Pines (26-1, 10-1) managed to thwart Poway’s scrambling, gambling man-to-man defense with a balanced offensive attack.

Five Falcons scored in double figures, led by Pollard’s 21. Miller added 19, Flanagan and Underwood 14 each and Friel 10.

After a slow start, Torrey Pines got going in the second period, and outscored Poway, 21-7, to lead at the half, 31-20.

Poway rallied briefly early in the third period, scoring 10 consecutive points to trail, 37-30. But Friel responded with 6 of his 10 points to help Torrey Pines regain its double figure advantage.

Though Poway forced the pace in the fourth period, Torrey Pines maintained control and outscored the Titans by one for the half.

“I thought we played hard. There was a lot of banging,” Farrell said. “That’s our first Palomar League title, and I’m really happy for the kids and the school.”