HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Scott’s 29 Points Help Kearny to Win : Upsets: Top-ranked Morse and fifth-ranked Rancho Buena Vista are beaten by rivals.

Darnay Scott swerved, weaved and leaped his way to 29 points Friday night.

And his effort led Kearny (12-1) to a 74-69 victory over Sweetwater (12-3) in the Valhalla Tournament.

Just a warmup, says Scott. Nothing special. He’s still a bit rusty.

An appearance in the 2-A football championship game Dec. 8 kept him from starting the season with the rest of his teammates. Then he was kept out of Wednesday’s game against Granite Hills because he broke curfew.

Friday, all he broke was Sweetwater’s defense. Afterward, he was asked if he is back in top basketball form.

“I’m real close,” he said. “A couple more games I think I’ll be able to reach it.”

Frightening thought.

What if he was in top form? How many would he have scored then?

“I don’t know,” he said. “A lot more than that.”

You get the feeling he’s right, too. Even Kearny Coach Bill Peterson said Scott is capable of more spectacular things.

“Oh sure,” Peterson said. “He’s not to where he was last year yet. If we get him in shape, he’s something else.”

And that means Kearny will be something else. The Komets are good enough as it is.

Still, Sweetwater slugged it out with them basket for basket for nearly three quarters. A three pointer by guard Pat Woodson gave Sweetwater a 57-56 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. Woodson hit six three-pointers to finish with a team-high 20 points.

But when it really counted, in the fourth quarter, Woodson and his teammates cooled like a late winter afternoon and Kearny pulled away.

“We just had mental breakdowns,” Woodson said. “We weren’t concentrating.”

In the first 7:41 of the fourth quarter, Sweetwater managed four measly free throws. Kearny had slowed the tempo and Sweetwater’s scoring slowed. It wasn’t until the final 19 seconds that Sweetwater recaptured its shooting touch.

Guillermo Arcadia hit a layup. Mendel Naparrete hit a three-pointer. And Woodson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. That was it. No more time.

The fourth quarter made the difference. That and Darnay Scott.

“He’s just one of those players,” Woodson said. “One out of every hundred.”