HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Brown Leads Torrey Pines to Victory Over Poway

Craig Brown was asked after leading Torrey Pines to a 68-56 victory over Poway if he had scored a quiet 31 points.

Brown’s face lit up and his jaw dropped.

“I had 31?” Brown asked back. “Wow, I thought I had, like, around 20.”

Yes, it was a quiet 31 for the 6-foot-4 forward averaging 16.3 points per game. He also had six rebounds and three steals.

Brown’s performance couldn’t have come at a better time as top-ranked Torrey Pines (12-3, 3-0) faced off against third-ranked Poway (13-4, 2-1) in front of 1,200 at Torrey Pines to determine the front-runner for the Palomar League title.

Poway had won 10 of its past 11 entering the game, but shoddy free-throw shooting decided the outcome.

Poway made only 13 of 28 free throws and missed five one-and-one opportunities in the second half. Torrey Pines made 27 of 30 free throws, including 13 of 14 by Brown. He entered the game making 57 of 72 on the season from the free-throw line and has made 23 of 25 the past two games.

Although the final difference was 12 points, it was usually a a six- to eight-point game until the final minutes. Poway trailed by five with 2 minutes 56 seconds left, then Brown ignored a two-on-one opportunity, pulled up at the three-point line and buried the basket and the Titans.

The contest often resembled a football game, especially in the first half. There were three technical fouls, one against Torrey Pines Coach John Farrell 1:30 into the game, one against Poway Coach Doug Wealch 3:37 into the second quarter and another against the Poway bench. There were 55 fouls called, and five players fouled out, three of them Falcons, including 6-foot-11 Scot Pollard (14 points, nine blocks, six rebounds).

The game featured two of the county’s best big men, Pollard and Poway’s 6-7 Kyle Milling (17 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks). Brown said Milling brought out the best in Torrey Pines’ centers.

“All (Pollard and 6-4 backup Brian Batson) talked about in the off-season was playing Milling,” Brown said.

Torrey Pines took an 18-17 lead midway in the second quarter over the team with which it shared last year’s title. The Falcons led by seven at halftime, eight after three quarters.

“It wasn’t a 12-point game, it was a six-point game, and if we make our free throws, we’re even with them,” Wealch said. “We lost four starters from last year, who’d they lose?”

No one. And it showed.