No. 10 Torrey Pines falls to nationally ranked DeMatha in Holiday Classic quarterfinals

Torrey Pines was in for a tough matchup in Saturday’s Torrey Pines Holiday Classic quarterfinals: DeMatha Catholic, the top team from Maryland and one that’s ranked No. 22 in the country by MaxPreps.com.

The Falcons cut the deficit down to a dozen points with 5:20 left in the fourth quarter before falling 74-57 in the National Division bracket.

“DeMatha is a nationally ranked basketball team,” Torrey Pines coach John Olive said. “We had spurts where we played very well. Unfortunately, we had two- or three-minute spurts where we didn’t play well.

“We’ve got to continue to practice and get better, so we don’t have those lulls.”

A DeMatha 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter followed by six points to begin the second quarter put the Stags (7-1) up 24-12.

The Stags then opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 44-24 lead that lasted the first 2:36 of the second half.

“Their size and athleticism was tough to deal with,” Olive said. “We were in good position at times. Their length, they were able to go mobile and go after rebounds.”

Leading the way for the Falcons (6-7) was senior guard Tevaris Green, who scored 21 points, 12 coming on 3-pointers.

“He’s a very gifted shot-maker,” Olive said of Green, who had 33 points and nine rebounds in the team’s first-round victory Friday against Long Beach Poly. “Tevaris has the ability to control his body. He has a very good touch around the basket. He could shoot the 3. He’s a very gifted offensive player.”

Junior guards Tyler Humprey and Jaydan Virgil had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Torrey Pines.

Leading the way for DeMatha was senior guard Ashton Meeks, who scored a game-high 25 points. Junior forward Daniel Abass added 12 points for the Stags.

It is Meeks’ second straight game with 25 points this tournament after scoring the same amount in the Stags’ opening round game against Windward Prep.

Torrey Pines will host No. 7 St. Augustine (7-6) on Monday at 3:50 p.m. for a spot in the fifth-place game. DeMatha moves to the semifinals of the National Division, where the Stags will face Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (10-4) at 7 p.m. Monday.

Olive said he hopes playing the 22nd-ranked team in the country will help his team down the stretch.

“We hope that it helps a lot because we’re not going to face better competition than that here in San Diego,” he said. “Playing a team like (DeMatha) will give us confidence.”

Francis Parker star shines in win

Tavid Johnson, a four-star junior who committed to New Mexico last week, recorded a tournament-high 45 points to fuel Francis Parker to an 86-78 victory over Ohio St. Ignatius in the consolation round.

Johnson, who also had six assists, five rebounds and no turnovers, scored 20 points in the first quarter and 22 in the opening half. He followed that up with 15 in the third quarter before his final eight points in the fourth.

The Lancers (6-7) move on to Monday’s consolation semifinals, where they’ll face Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias.