BOYS' BASKETBALL; POINTS APLENTY PALMDALE STANDOUT BROWN ALSO CAN PASS AND DEFEND.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Tales of Eric Brown's high-scoring rampages this season have circulated through the Golden League. So far, no team has figured out a way to stop the Palmdale High senior guard.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Brown is averaging an area-leading 28.4 points and on pace to break Palmdale's single-season scoring and average records with three games remaining.

Brown, who scored 31 points against league-leading Quartz Hill on Tuesday, has 596 points in 21 games. He is 55 points away from the Kerry Yates record of 651 set during the 1997-98 season. Yates also holds the season-career-average record of 25.0 per game.

Palmdale (8-14, 3-4) plays at Antelope Valley tonight before closing out the season at home against Littlerock on Tuesday and at Highland on Friday.

Brown started the season on a tear, earning selection to the all-tournament teams at the Hart, Serrano and Beverly Hills tournaments.

He has twice scored a season-high 38 points, scored 37 points two times and surpassed the 30-point plateau nine times. His lowest game has been 20 points.

``Eric doesn't look dangerous, but he holds the guns on that team,'' Littlerock coach Ben Dale said. ``He is their go-to guy. The one they look to. He is a smaller guy and doesn't do things like dunk, which is intimidating to 17 and 18 year olds, but he is very good at creating shots for himself.''

Dale saw that firsthand during Brown's 30-point performance against Littlerock on Jan. 19. The Lobos' goal was to keep Brown under 20 points. Brown had 17 in the first half.

``He'll be on the wing like he is standing around in his backyard listening to birds chirping,'' Dale said. ``The next thing you know he is driving the baseline and shooting. He has that way about him. He lulls you into a false sense of security.''

Brown hopes his numbers this season will help secure a scholarship to a Division I university.

Brown, who maintains a 3.0 grade-point average and has achieved a NCAA qualifying score on the Scholastic Assessment Test, is the latest standout under Palmdale coach Garry Phelps.

Phelps also coached Michael Hamelin (West Texas A&M), Eric Ashe (UC Santa Barbara), Markus Carr (Cal State Northridge) and Jerome Payton (UC Riverside) during his 20-year tenure at Palmdale.

``He has the grades, jumps well, hits shots off the drive and is able to shoot the three,'' Phelps said. ``Size is the only thing which may hold him back at a higher level.''

A three-year starter, Brown averaged 21.8 points as a junior to earn first-team all-league honors. This season, Phelps issued a challenge to Brown to bump it up a notch with an inexperienced team. He and senior forward Jerrick Holmes are the team's only returners.

Seniors Travis Richie and Turan Sanders did not play last season. Terry Furlow, elevated from the junior varsity, joined the team several weeks into the season after breaking a hand playing on the football team.

``It has been a big responsibility,'' Brown said. ``It is a totally different team than the year before. My main motivation has been to win and I have to do be a leader. It does not matter if I have to pass. I'll average a lot of assists. I'll do whatever it takes.''

Brown has demonstrated his versatility over the last three seasons.

As a sophomore point guard, Brown assumed the role of a passer on a team which included Yates, who is now playing junior college basketball in Florida. The past two seasons, Brown has been placed in the shooting- guard position. Phelps believes Brown's future in college will be at point guard.

``He has a point-guard mentality,'' Phelps said. ``It doesn't make any difference what position he plays. He tries to get involved to get the ball back to him. Eric is a quite vocal person and the kids have responded to it. In clutch situations, Eric is the person we can't do without, knowing what type of player he is.''

This season, Brown has become a defensive specialist. In addition to improved outside shooting, he credits his scoring increase to points off defense from forcing steals and turnovers.

Dale was overwhelmed by Brown's defense against Littlerock _ even more so after reviewing the game films and a steal beneath the Palmdale basket on an inbounds pass.

``He was just standing there nowhere close to the guy,'' Dale said. ``You would have thought he was thinking about the rise and fall of the cost of snow peas. He does not get down and dig and shuffle, but you look up and he has two steals. He gets a lot of points by catching your player standing around. Most of the talk about him is on offense, but he is deceptively good on defense.''

Brown has faced a myriad of defenses this season. Teams began keying on him during tournament games. It has picked up in Golden League play. Quartz Hill and Highland implemented box-and-one defenses. Lancaster went to a trapping zone.

``It's frustrating, but I am kind of getting used to it,'' Brown said. ``I am confident I can score. I am not thinking about anybody guarding me. In my mind, I can score whenever I get the ball.''

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Photo: Palmdale High's high-scoring Eric Brown has gone from point guard to shooting guard with great success.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer