BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Pollard Is at the Center of Torrey Pines’ Victory

Carlsbad didn’t play as if the task was monumental. But in the end, Torrey Pines junior Scot Pollard was.

The Falcons’ 6-foot-11 senior scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as top-seeded Torrey Pines defeated fourth-seeded Carlsbad, 70-52, Wednesday night at Rancho Bernardo High in the Division II Section semifinals.

With Carlsbad’s two leading scorers Chad Nelson and Kewan Shariff having off nights, forward Ryan Demirdjian kept the Lancers within striking range. Demirdjian, a 6-2 junior, scored eight of his 12 points in the third quarter as Carlsbad trimmed a 52-36 lead to 54-48.

When Andy Reed sank a 12-foot baseline jumper, the Lancers crept to 56-52 with 7:30 left. But within the next minute Demirdjian picked up his fourth and fifth fouls, and suddenly the Lancers’ spark was gone.

Torrey Pines (26-3) scored the next six points, two each by Craig Brown, Steve Lemery and Pollard, and went up 60-50 with 5:46 remaining. Carlsbad scored only two points the rest of the way.

“Ryan Demirdjian is one of the best players in our league but he doesn’t get the credit because he comes off the bench,” Carlsbad Coach Tom Jarrard said. “I knew we were in trouble when he fouled out.”

A better sign might have been the shooting of Nelson, who was 0 for 6 from three-point range and 0 for 10 overall. Nelson, averaging 15 points a game, was shadowed by Lemery and Eddie Montavlo all game. Some of his shots came from as far way as 25 feet.

“If I hit half my shots, we have a chance,” said Nelson, who did make all six of his free throws. “I just couldn’t get my rhythm all. They had the 1-3-1 zone, the trap, they had it all.”

They also had 6-7 1/2 Peter Bates and 6-4 Craig Brown to bookend Pollard on the inside. Bates had 12 points and Brown scored 19, 17 in the first half before he ran into foul trouble.

Shariff, averaging 16 points, finished with five. Reed, who had 12 points, was the only other Lancer to reach double figures.

Carlsbad, which had won 16 consecutive games, finished 22-7.