JV Falcons basketball captures St. Augustine title

Torrey Pines undefeated

The Torrey Pines Falcons junior varsity basketball team went undefeated to claim the title at the 14th Annual St. Augustine Winter Showcase Junior Varsity Tournament on Dec. 1 to 6.

The Falcons came from behind in the championship game to defeat their Avocado League rivals La Costa Canyon 65-57. The following is a recap, as recalled by Falcons head coach Jonathan Moore, of the games in the tournament.

Round 1, Monday

Torrey Pines: 70; Kearny: 24. The Falcons opened their 2008-09 season with a convincing 70-24 win over the Kearny Comets. Torrey Pines led 20-7 at the end of the first quarter and 36-14 at halftime.

Before playing mostly reserves in the second half, Jered Wood led the Falcons with 19 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Jesse Neugarten added 13 points, Kevin Cuff chipped in with 8 points and 5 assists and Franklin Cooley had 6 points.

Round 2, Tuesday

Torrey Pines: 63; Rancho Buena Vista: 39. Again the Falcons raced to a 20-4 first quarter lead and never looked back. They led at halftime 32-14 and once again were able to use all 15 players throughout the game.

Sophomore C.J. Vafiadis led the Falcons with 21 points on 10 of 12 shots.

The Torrey Pines junior varsity basketball team won the 14th Annual St. Augustine Winter Showcase Tournament when they beat La Costa Canyon 65-57. courtesy from the field. Jered Wood added 14, Jesse Neugarten 11 points and 5 assists, Kevin Cuff pulled down 7 boards and Ray Xu chipped in with 5 points and 4 rebounds.

Round 3, Wednesday

Torrey Pines: 73; Mission Bay: 53. Torrey Pines won a hard-fought third round game over the Mission Bay Buccaneers. The team again ignited from the start, grabbing a 24-8 first-quarter lead and went into halftime at 35-20.

Mission Bay fought back, cutting the Falcons’ lead to 45-40 with three minutes left in the third quarter. But the Falcons closed it out with a 5-0 run going into the fourth quarter, where they put the game away, outscoring Mission Bay 23-13 for the victory.

Sophomore point guard Neugarten scored 24 points while Vafiadis added 13 and Wood scored 14 points and 6 rebounds.

Round 4 - semifinals, Friday

Torrey Pines: 66; St. Augustine: 50. The Falcons advanced to the championship game with another hard-fought win over their host, the St. Augustine Saints. Torrey Pines led 16-15 after the first quarter and 28-24 at the half. The game was tied at 37-37 late in the third quarter, before the Falcons closed it on a 7-0 run going into the final quarter.

Falcons Blake Hansen hit two big baskets including a 3-pointer to close out the quarter.

Neugarten scored a career-high 37 points. He also had 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Vafiadis added 10 points, 6 boards and 6 steals and forced 31 Saints turnovers. Kevin Cuff had a game-high 9 rebounds.

Round 5 - championship game, Saturday

Torrey Pines: 65; La Costa Canyon: 57. The Falcons made a clean sweep of the field against rival LCC Mavericks in the title game. Torrey led 17-16 after one quarter, but trailed 31-25 at the half for the first time in the season.

The Falcons went to a full-court press, forcing 22 second-half LCC turnovers, to pull out the championship victory. LCC led 46-43 going into the final quarter, but the Mavericks committed 11 fourth-quarter timeouts, which led to their downfall.

Neugarten led the Falcons with 31 points. Vafiadis added 17 points and 6 steals and Wood chipped in 7 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Vafiadis was named to the All-Tournament team and Neugarten was named tournament MVP. This marked the 10th time Torrey Pines has won the Tournament Title under Moore.