Week in Sports: Falcons’ basketball title aspirations alive
Boys basketball:
Torrey Pines kept its Avocado League title aspirations alive after surviving a scare, as the Falcons barely hung on to defeat Escondido 54-53 in a Feb. 10 league contest.
Three days later the Falcons went on to defeat Mission Hills of San Marcos 72-43 to improve to 7-1 in league and 21-4 overall for the season.
Going into the last week of the regular season, the Falcons trailed first-place La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad (20-4, 8-0) by just one game in the league standings. Torrey Pines plays LCC on Feb. 20 in a regular season finale for both teams that figures to be a pivotal showdown.
Trevor Newquist scored 18 points and had 15 rebounds to lead the Falcons in the Escondido game.
Nick Kerr had 14 points for Torrey Pines, and Colin Porter added 12.
Max Heller and Kerr each scored 16 points to lead the Falcons in the Mission Hills game, and Spencer Klein added 11 points.
Santa Fe Christian remains in the hunt for a Coastal North League title after a decisive 70-36 league win against San Dieguito Academy of Encinitas on Feb. 13.
Kyle Hubbard scored 24 points to lead the Eagles and Tyler Davis added 10 points.
The Eagles improved to 5-1 in league and 18-7 overall for the season heading into the final week of league play. The Eagles play first-place Army-Navy of Carlsbad (14-8, 7-0) in a Feb. 20 regular season finale for both teams that could decide the league title.
A stunning third-quarter defensive stand had Cathedral Catholic on a brink of a major upset against University City of San Diego, but University City found its touch in the fourth quarter to beat the Dons 63-54 in a Feb. 13 Western League game.
The Dons took a 41-37 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring their opponents 12-4 in the third quarter, but University City surged late, outscoring the Dons by a 26-13 margin in the fourth quarter.
Matt Moynihan scored 17 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Dons, and Chase Novak added 18 points.
The third-place Dons fell to 6-5 in league and 14-11 overall for the season.
Girls basketball:
In just a year, Santa Fe Christian has gone from middle-of-the-road to championship caliber.
The Eagles, who last season, finished third in Coastal North League play with a 3-3 league mark, now stand on the brink of a league title.
The Eagles entered the last week of the regular season in a commanding position after decisive victories over Tri-City Christian of Vista and San Dieguito Academy of Encinitas.
SFC extended its winning streak to seven games as the Eagles improved to 5-0 in league and 17-8 overall for the season.
Alex Vilas scored nine points and Jo Carlson added seven points to lead the Eagles to a 39-25 victory over Tri-City Christian on Feb. 10 in which nine Eagles players figured in the scoring.
Kiara Quinn scored 13 points and Carlson added 10 points to lead the Eagles to a 52-38 victory over San Dieguito Academy on Feb. 13.
Cathedral Catholic responded to its first Western League loss of the season with a vengeance, outscoring Mission Bay and University City by a combined 82 points.
The Dons, who were coming off a surprising 46-43 Feb. 6 loss to Our Lady of the Peace, beat Mission Bay 68-30 on Feb. 10, and University City 64-20 three days later.
The first-place Dons improved to 10-1 in league and 17-8 overall for the season.
Victoria Lippert scored 22 points to lead the Dons in the Mission Bay game and Megan McClurg added 13 points.
Katie Dollard’s 18 points led the Dons in the University City game.
Heather Servin scored 27 points and Tarlan Zaltash added 13 points to lead Torrey Pines to a 72-62 Avocado League victory over Mission Hills of San Marcos on Feb. 13.
The victory followed a 63-53 loss to Escondido on Feb. 10 in which Servin scored 22 points and Megan Fennessy contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The Falcons improved to 4-3 in league and 14-11 overall for the season.
Alisha Eckberg scored 20 points to lead Canyon Crest Academy to a 61-37 Coastal South League victory over Parker of San Diego on Feb. 13.
Julia Brew added 10 points as the Ravens improved to 3-3 in league and 13-10 overall for the season.
Eckberg also had seven rebounds.
Girls soccer:
Alexandra Bailey scored three goals to lead Torrey Pines to a 5-1 victory over Mission Hills of San Marcos in an Avocado League game on Feb. 12.
Kylie McCarthy and Meghan O’Rourke each contributed one goal for the Falcons, and Caitlin Allen, Chelsea Small and Taylor Sims each had one assist.
The Falcons improved to 6-1 in league and 14-2-2 overall for the season.