HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Kearny Wins; No. 1 Mt. Carmel Upset

The scoreboard is ancient. The lights are dim. The air seems stale. The only thing missing in Kearny’s gym is a “Trespassers will be prosecuted,” sign.

Visiting USDHS escaped a jail sentence Friday night but couldn’t escape a Kearny team that believes that there’s no place like home, losing, 90-79, in a key City Western League boys’ basketball game.

“There’s no way we can lose here,” said Kearny junior Mike Oviedo, who finished with a game-high 27 points, his best this year.

Kearny’s only loss at home this year was early in the season to Serra. The Komets (14-8, 2-3) may be a bit superstitious about this thing, but in their first four league games, three of which were on the road, they went 1-3. Their only victory was at home.

“Three of our last four games are at home,” Kearny Coach Bill Peterson said. “If (USDHS) can beat University City at home, it’s a whole new race.”

University City (5-0) is still favored to win the league, but USDHS (11-6, 3-2) will play in the same division (III) as Kearny come playoff time.

“We’re hoping this will help us for the rest of the season,” Peterson said.

Kearny played more of an up-tempo game than it is accustomed to and was able to hold USDHS’s leading scorer, Peter Ellis, to 16 points.

“It’s funny,” USDHS Coach Jim Tomey said. “We played their style when they played us at home, and they played our style when we came here.”

Blame it on the gym.

Kearny held a 32-29 halftime lead and extended it to 12 points midway through the third quarter. The Dons reeled Kearny back in and even took a 47-46 lead early in the fourth, but the Komets put on a free throw exhibition by hitting 25 of 28 in the last period.

Tommy Rawlins made 14 of 15.

“He came over to me and said, ‘This is like putting money in the bank,’ then he missed the next one,” Peterson said.

Tomey was impressed by Rawlins, who scored 21 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, but he was more in awe of Kearny’s victory, given its skeletal roster. Only eight players suited up, and two didn’t play.

“It was a real team effort,” Peterson said.