HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Pope Sparks Surge as Mt. Carmel Wins

The rivalry between Mt. Carmel and Poway manifested itself in an intense defensive effort Friday night.

Mt. Carmel, ranked No. 10, upset fourth-ranked Poway, 61-57, in overtime to win the 44th annual Kiwanis Invitational at Serra High School. Senior guard Dana Pope scored seven points in the final 2:08 to clinch the victory for the Sundevils.

Mt. Carmel Coach John Marincovich expressed his pride in his team’s performance, but added, “I still think they’re (Poway) No. 1.

“You’ve got two teams scoring 80 or 90 points a night, and they play a game in the 50s, there’s some pretty good defense out there.”

The Sundevils improved to 8-0 this season, their best start in school history, and Poway dropped to 4-1.

Pope emerged as Mt. Carmel’s star after Ryan Wootton, the team’s leading scorer, fouled out with 2:27 left and his team clinging to a 52-48 lead. It had been 52-42, but Poway’s defense inspired the comeback, scoring four points off steals.

“I thought we had it when we got to overtime,” Poway Coach Doug Wealch said. “We got the tie and everything was going our way.”

Mt. Carmel didn’t score the final 2:55 of regulation, but got a free throw from Danny Kirby, an eight-footer from Pope that bounced four times before falling, and a three-point basket by Pope with 1:20 left in OT to make it 58-54.

Kyle Milling, who scored 14, made a three-point play with 26 seconds left to make it 58-57.

When Poway fouled to stop the clock, it made the mistake of fouling Pope, who sunk his 16th and 17th points with 13 seconds to go, giving Mt. Carmel a 60-57 edge.

The Titans missed five shots in the final seconds, and when Aaron Harmon was fouled while pulling down the rebound with one second left, the game was virtually sealed.

“They deserve (the game),” Wealch said. “They got challenged. They could have folded, especially when Wootton went out. They didn’t.”