San Diego Prep Boys’ Basketball : Losing Streak Ends for Carlsbad in a Big Way

SAN DIEGO —  The Carlsbad High School boys’ basketball team made up for lost time Monday, and they did it in impressive fashion.

The Lancers entered the Peninsula basketball tournament with an 0-6 record, but came away with two wins--including a 62-57 upset of previously unbeaten Castle Park (9-1) at Point Loma High School. Earlier in the day, Carlsbad defeated winless Southwest, 70-50.

“We’ve felt all along we’ve had a good team,” Coach Scott Wright said. “Certainly much better than our 0-6 record showed.

“The last game we played before the tournament (Dec. 14), we blew a 15-point lead against Santana and lost by one,” Wright said. “The next day, we held a team meeting and talked about the things we were or weren’t doing, and what we had to do as a team in order to win. Then we went out and had our best practice ever.”

It carried over to both tournament games. Shawn Stoll scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as the Lancers rallied from a 37-32 halftime deficit to defeat Castle Park. Teammate Scott Porter scored 19. John Stanton led Castle Park with 12 points, Javier Nunez added 11 and Eddie Moreno 10. Carlsbad carried a 50-49 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lancers slowed things down and forced Castle Park to foul. The Lancers converted 10 of 12 free throws but made only one field goal.

Porter scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds against Southwest, and Stoll scored 10.

“Nine of our 12 players were on the football team,” Wright said. “We don’t have great athletes, but we have good athletes. I felt it was a matter of time before they got it together. I just hope it will carry over for the rest of the season.”

In other tournament games:

Chula Vista 52, Point Loma 51--Joe Klanchar sank two free throws with eight seconds remaining to clinch the Spartans’ (5-7) second win over the Pointers this season. Klanchar scored a game-high 13 points, but received plenty of assistance from Jeff Knight and Adam Gire (12 points each) and George Brynd (10). Steve Clark scored 12 points for Point Loma and Arlondo Hill had 10. Chula Vista led, 41-34, after three quarters, but the Pointers rallied and twice tied the game in the final period before the Spartans pulled it out.

Castle Park 65, University 62--The Trojans won their ninth straight as Moreno scored 18 points and Stanton added 12. James Wilson scored 22 points for University, Sean Giles had 20 and John Turner added 18. Castle Park held a 51-42 lead after three quarters, but had to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally by University.

University City 55, Mar Vista 38--Kendall Lavender scored 17 points and Jerry Black added 11 as the Centurions won for the first time this season. Mar Vista’s Jim McClusky scored a game-high 19 points. University City led, 14-10, after the first quarter and never looked back. The Centurions were up by nine at halftime and held a commanding 42-28 lead after three quarters.

Santana Tournament--Patrick Henry 62, Hilltop 59--The Patriots outscored the Lancers, 19-9, in the final quarter to gain a come-from-behind victory. Patrick Henry’s Myron Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points, and teammate Ron Young added 16. James McCurty led Hilltop (6-7) with 18, and Judd Rachow added 14.