Tars’ muscle eliminates Bears

NEWPORT BEACH — Expecting to finally go up against someone their own size, Newport Harbor High’s twin towers were eager.

Mano-a-mano, with no annoying guards swiping at 6-foot-8 center Kyle Caldwell and 6-7 forward Weston Dunlap.

It never came to fruition for the twosome in the CIF Southern Section Division I-A wild-card game at home Wednesday.

Poly of Riverside played without its 6-7 big man, Greg McFarland, costing itself any chance to upset the Sailors.

Dunlap and Caldwell alternated the scoring responsibility when one wasn’t double- or triple-teamed, finishing with 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead Newport Harbor to a 56-40 victory and into the first round.

“We were expecting him to come, but he didn’t come, [so] whatever,” said Caldwell, who made each of his seven field goals and three free throws. “It’s his problem, not ours.”

McFarland’s absence created an advantage for Newport Harbor (15-11), but it took the second half to exploit that Poly’s biggest player was 6-3 forward Winston Hutchinson.

The Sailors looked like they’d be in a fight at halftime, leading, 22-17, before earning an opportunity to play at No. 12 seed Damien (23-5) of La Verne on Friday.

Damien’s coaches were in attendance and they caught Newport Harbor’s weakness — beating a full-court press. Nine times the Sailors turned the ball over in the first half.

“Right now we’re kind of more worried about ourselves,” said Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst after making his 11th straight playoff appearance. “We were our own worst enemy.”

Once Newport Harbor made its halftime adjustments against Poly (14-13), it went to someone it could rely on: Dunlap.

With defenders crowding Caldwell, the guards passed to Dunlap. He scored the first seven points in the third quarter, creating a big enough gap, 29-17, which took away any momentum the Bears had.

“You do the best you can to prepare for [Newport Harbor] with one 6-3 guy and four other guys who are 5-foot-11,” said Poly Coach Yancy Dodson, adding that McFarland was removed from the team before the playoffs. “There wasn’t much we can do about it.”

But just watch Caldwell and Dunlap dominate on both ends as they combined for 19 rebounds.

Caldwell scored eight second-half points, but Dunlap stole most of the show as he put up 16 points on seven-for-nine shooting.

One of a couple of moves Dunlap showcased left a defender behind. On the baseline, Dunlap faked a pass to the top before attacking the basket for an easy layup while getting fouled.

The easiest part of the play was the free throw, which he missed. But he could only smile about it as Newport Harbor led, 52-36.

“We came out pretty slow. We tend to, [but] we can’t do that Friday,” said Dunlap of the game against Damien, the second-place team out of the Sierra League. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I think we have the potential to beat them.”

Maybe Damien will give Dunlap and Caldwell somebody to bang around with. It has a 6-7 player.

CIF Southern Section Division I-A

First round

Newport Harbor 56,

Riverside Poly 40

Score by Quarters

Poly 9 8 7 16 — 40

Newport 15 7 17 17 — 56

Poly -- Snyder 10, Mudge 9, Henninger 7, Hutchinson 7, Avers 3, Hailu 2, Colbert 2.

3-pt. goals -- Snyder 2, Mudge 2.

Newport Harbor -- Dunlap 18, Caldwell 17, Stassel 11, Serrano 3, Kuhns 3, Holmes 2, Nigro 2.

3-pt. goals -- Stassel 2, Serrano 1, Kuhns 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.