BIG GAME : Surprising Torrey Pines Improves to 14-1

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Not at all.

This was going to be the year county boys’ basketball teams exacted revenge on Torrey Pines High School. Big Courtie Miller (6-feet-7) and bigger Kevin Flanagan (6-9) had moved on to San Diego State and the University of Arizona, so many figured the Palomar League championship would pass on to Mt. Carmel, or maybe Poway.

It still might, but not without the Falcons causing a flap. See, the biggest problem Torrey Pines Coach John Farrell has at this point in the season is that his little secret is out of the bag.

Torrey Pines did it again Friday night, this time at Rancho Buena Vista, 71-59. While it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t particularly difficult, either.

RBV never led. The Longhorns watched Torrey Pines take a seven-point halftime lead, increase it to 13 by the end of the third quarter and then make some clutch free throws down the stretch. RBV never got closer than six, 55-49, in the fourth quarter.

So now Torrey Pines, defending Palomar League and San Diego County Division I champion, is 14-1 and 2-0 in the league. The Falcons whipped Poway Wednesday, 64-46, at home.

“I can’t say enough about these guys,” Farrell said. “It was a hard-fought game. Rancho is a good club. I’m just happy to get out of their house with a victory.”

Comparing this year’s Torrey Pines team to last year’s is like comparing gnats to elephants. A year ago, the Falcons methodically worked the ball inside to Miller and Flanagan. This year, with a much smaller team, outside shooting is their strength.

Against RBV (5-6, 1-1), the Falcons made seven of 15 three-point attempts, including four of seven by 5-foot-9 guard Carter Brown.

Brown, a scrappy transfer from Yorktown High in Arlington, Va., finished with a game-high 24 points.

“I’ve heard all about the past,” said Brown, who has met both Miller and Flanagan. “Now, I’m trying to make a lot of history myself.”

It wasn’t just the Torrey Pines offense that did in RBV. The Falcons’ tenacious matchup zone defense held 6-6 RBV standout Darryl Parker to 21 of the quietest points imaginable. Parker, who is averaging 24, had only seven at halftime and 12 after three quarters. He was never able to get a streak going.

“They stacked down low,” Parker explained. “There was a person in front of me, a person in back of me and a person on the side of me at all times.”

As far as that goes, Parker can join a club full of people who have been frustrated by Torrey Pines this season. And the thing is, the young Falcons--guard Kyle Armstrong is the lone returning starter from last year--are gaining confidence with each victory.

“If we keep improving and playing together,” Brown said, “we’ll go as far as the tournament will let us.”