HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Mira Mesa Is Strike Three on Fallbrook

Fallbrook High lost its big man--senior Travis Teagle--a day before the regular season final. Strike one.

Its best outside guy--sophomore Chris Miller--had a 103 degree temperature. Strike two.

Its opponent Tuesday night in the first round of the San Diego Section Division I boys’ basketball playoffs--Mira Mesa--executed a terrific game plan to near perfection. Strike three.

Fallbrook is out of the playoffs.

Mira Mesa, with a 66-52 victory at home, advances to the second round where it will play No. 1 Sweetwater, an easy winner over Granite Hills. The Marauders (18-8) have won five in a row. Fallbrook (16-11) lost its last four.

Mira Mesa Coach Tim Cunningham knew of Fallbrook’s condition and hoped his team would not relent. He need not have worried.

Mixing things up at both ends of the court, Mira Mesa kept the Warriors on their heels nearly the entire game. Cunningham deployed three different zone defenses and a full-court press and got balanced scoring on offense.

Mira Mesa’s Shed Smith made four of four three-pointers and scored all 14 of his points in the first quarter. “I just hit my first and had confidence after that,” Smith said.

Marc Ziegler had eight points in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth to finish with a game-high 18. Cal Chatham added 11 and J.J. Rowlett and Chris Crane nine apiece.

A weary Miller, who was averaging 18.6 points, had nine points in the first half and zero in the second. Senior forward Darnell Lee picked up the slack with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Teagle, who suffered a knee injury Thursday in practice, was dearly missed as Mira Mesa controlled the inside game.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Cunningham said. “(Lee) posted up well and made some real nice soft shots.”

The Marauders trailed just once, 8-7, five minutes into the game. Mira Mesa scored the first seven points, Fallbrook the next eight, and Mira Mesa the next 10. The Marauders led by nine at the end of the first quarter and eight at the half.

Fallbrook rallied late in the third and early in the fourth to pull within, 44-42, but Mira Mesa quickly regained a 10-point advantage. “We made a run, and I thought we had them for a while,” Fallbrook Coach Russell Keith said.

Free throws played a big part, too. Fallbrook went to the line seven times and missed the first one each time. It finished five for 13. Mira Mesa made 16 or 21, including 10 or 12 in the fourth quarter.