2-A All-Stars Turn Speed on Taller Foes

A few minutes after scoring 17 points and spending the better part of his night sticking a thorn in the side of opposing players, Kearny’s 5-foot-8 Ali Nayab talked about how much he enjoyed playing against taller players.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve played with taller guys,” Nayab said. “You know what they say, ‘They bigger the better.’ ”

They also say the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and the taller 3-A All-Stars fell to the smaller, quicker 2-A All-Stars, 91-86, Saturday at Serra High School in the Lee Trepanier Memorial All-Star Game.

The 2-A guards ran the offense, ignited the defense and frustrated a taller team.

Nayab’s backcourt mate, Carlsbad’s Chad Nelson, scored a game-high 23 points, and Rancho Bernardo’s Bill McMahon (six points) and University City’s Barry Waits (three) also contributed.

McMahon hit a three-point basket to open the fourth quarter and Nelson added another to stretch a two-point third-quarter lead to 72-67. Then Carlsbad’s Toby Tollack (16 points), a 6-5 forward, combined with Nelson for 17 of the 2-A’s next 19 points.

Helix’s Lloyd Lake (15 points) made a pair of three-pointers to pull the 3-A to 84-83, but Tollack hit a trey and Nelson made the next four free throws.

GIRLS

3-A 85, 2-A 73--The starting lineup for the 3-A consisted of five players who competed in the section final, three from Poway and two from Mt. Carmel, and they outscored the 2-A 14-3 to open the game and 14-4 to open the second half.

Poway’s Stephanie Guerena led the way with 15 points, and Point Loma’s Lisa Griego had 12.

The game’s leading scorer was Rancho Bernardo’s Carol Pajarillo (20 points).