Palisades Places in Bosco Meet

Equaling its 1986 performance, Palisades High School finished third in the 40-team Bosco Tech high school basketball tournament. After losing to eventual champion Santa Barbara in the semifinals, 78-56, the Dolphins edged Westchester, 79-74, in the consolation game.

Santa Barbara dumped Bishop Amat, 64-42, for the championship.

Palisades center Paul Garrett, a 6-foot-9 1/2 senior, led the Dolphins with 19 points against Westchester. Backup point guard Earl Smith had 15.

The Dolphins, whose 4-6 mark placed them third last season in the Central League, beat Westchester without star point guard Jamie Dudley, who was attending the Superstar Camp in Santa Barbara. Absent from Westchester were Michael Brown and Zane Mason, also attending out-of-town camps.

“Every team in the tournament was missing somebody at some point,” said Palisades assistant coach Dick Bassler, “so although it’s an indication of what’ll happen in the regular season, it’s not very accurate.”

Palisades will compete in the 16-team Fairfax High tournament July 16-19. Bassler said the tourney will offer a better indication of how local teams will do next season because none of the teams’ key players will be attending camp.