Torrey Pines Capitalizes on Turnovers to Turn Away Mt. Carmel

Mt. Carmel played Wednesday night’s Palomar League game like it was old soda pop--flat, very flat.

It’s not like the Sundevils shouldn’t be able to get up for this game. They were the county’s No. 1-ranked team going against the county’s 10th-ranked team, Torrey Pines. And first place in the Palomar League was on the line.

But the Sundevils, coming off a victory over No. 5 Poway, handed over the league lead to the visiting Falcons, 65-52. Just turned it over, in fact.

Mt. Carmel (13-3, 3-2) committed 24 turnovers, making it easy for Torrey Pines (14-4, 4-1).

The Falcons benefitted from a comedy of errors in the third quarter, stretching a 31-28 halftime lead to a 51-36 cushion.

Mt. Carmel committed turnovers on its first eight possessions, and Torrey Pines went on a 16-4 tear. The Sundevils had 10 turnovers in the quarter to go with the 11 they had in the first half.

“I think we caught them on a bad night,” Torrey Pines Coach John Farrell said. “(But) we caused some of (the turnovers).”

Torrey Pines’ Chad Davis and Bill Scheibe were thorns in the side of the Sundevils defensively, and 6-foot-9 sophomore Scot Pollard continued to emerge as a presence in the middle. He was brought up from the junior varsity when the Falcons were ravaged by injuries earlier in the season. After missing 11 games with inflamed joints, Pollard has been back two games.

He has made his impression.

“I hadn’t planned on bringing him up to varsity,” Farrell said. “But he’s shown me he belongs.”

Pollard scored 17 points, had 13 rebounds, blocked two shots and altered several others.

While Pollard was cleaning up inside, Craig Brown was picking apart the Sundevils from the outside. He scored 22 points, including three baskets from three-point range. They were the only two to score in double figures.

“Once we’re 100% (healthy as a a team), I don’t think we’ll lose again,” Brown said.

“I seriously thought Rancho Buena Vista and Poway were the favorites to win the league, but after Vista beat RBV, it’s going to be whoever plays the hardest. Tonight, we came out and played defense, and that’s what won it for us.”

Ryan Wootton led Mt. Carmel with 16 points. Aaron Harmon had 12.