Sweetwater Stands Too Tall for Mira Mesa : Big Game: Lack of height didn’t leave the Red Devils short in their 87-68 victory over Marauders.

Sweetwater High players do not particularly care that their tallest player, Carlos Campbell, is 6-feet-4. They are seemingly unbothered that the next tallest is two inches shorter.

Sweetwater feels it can win it all. Not just the Hilltop Invitational, in which it will play for the championship at 5:15 p.m. today against Kearny. The Red Devils think they can win the San Diego Section Division I championship.

No. 10 Mira Mesa (1-3) would be hard pressed to argue. No. 5 Sweetwater (4-0) defeated the Marauders, 87-68, Friday evening at Hilltop.

“I think we have a good chance,” Sweetwater’s Joe McDowell said. “But we don’t want to get big-headed. It’s still too early in the season.”

Early in Friday’s game, Sweetwater looked unstoppable. The Red Devils raced to an 23-8 lead after just five minutes and was in front, 27-14, after one quarter.

Mira Mesa slowly got its inside game working--namely Marc Ziegler, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds--to pull within 54-49 late in the third quarter, but Sweetwater went on a 14-2 run to re-assume command. An 8-0 run gave Sweetwater its biggest lead, 78-59, with 3:02 left.

“We just played our strategy like we always play,” McDowell said. “We got a little sloppy, but then we cleaned that up.”

McDowell (6-2) had 26 points and 11 rebounds, despite sitting out the final 8:44 of the first half after falling on his right wrist. He said he first injured it in a physical education class earlier in the day.

John Gilbert (6-2) added 22 points and six rebounds, including four three-pointers. Campbell had 11 points and six rebounds despite injuring his lower back in the first quarter.

Off the bench, Sweetwater’s Juan Martinez (5-9) had 11 points, including making five of five free throws. Melvin Rushing (6-0) made eight of eight free throws, all in the fourth quarter, for eight points.

“The guys coming off the bench was the main factor,” Sweetwater Coach David Ybarra said. “They really stood out today.”

Said Campbell, “We’ve got a real balanced team. We don’t depend on just one or two guys.”

Other than 6-4 Ziegler, Mira Mesa had only one other player in double-figure scoring--Kal Chatham with 11.

And what of that size disadvantage? Sweetwater outrebounded Mira Mesa, 36-32.