8 South Bay Teams to Compete in Carson’s Hoop Grand Finale

Eight South Bay teams, including defending Bay League champion Rolling Hills, will compete in the 16-team Carson Summer Grand Finale high school basketball tournament starting Tuesday at Carson High.

Rolling Hills, absent from the recent L.A. Games, returns its top four players from last season’s 21-7 team: 6-4 center John Hardy, the Bay League most valuable player, and guards Mark Tesar, Steve Clover and Ron Dinnel.

Other notable teams participating include defending tournament champion Carson, led by guard Greg Lindsay, last year’s MVP; Artesia, which has the West Coast’s No. 1 college prospect in 6-8 junior Ed O’Bannon; Torrey Pines, considered the best team in San Diego, and a talented Morningside squad.

Rounding out the South Bay contingent are North Torrance, Hawthorne, South Torrance, Palos Verdes and Bishop Montgomery.

“We have more South Bay teams than ever before,” said tournament director Issy Washington.

Eight games will be played each of the first three days in four pools. Pool winners advance to the championship bracket and runners-up move to the consolation bracket.

The tournament concludes Friday with semifinals and finals. The title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following a skill contest featuring dunking and three-point shooting.

Two tournament entries, Morningside and Santa Monica, will also compete in the Fairfax Tournament, which begins Wednesday and wraps up Sunday. L.A. Games champion Westchester, defending state Division I champion Manual Arts and Games runner-up Cleveland are favorites.

Admission to the Carson Summer Grand Finale is $3 for adults, $2 for students with ID and $1 for children under 12. Tournament passes can be purchased for $10 for adults, $6 for students and $3 for children.

Proceeds will be split between the Carson athletic program and Athletes for Academic Success.

Tournament schedule:

TUESDAY--Pool A: North Torrance vs. Santa Monica, 10:20 a.m.; Dominguez vs. Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m. Pool B: Muir vs. South Torrance, 12:40 p.m.; El Camino (Oceanside) vs. Carson, 4:40 p.m. Pool C: Long Beach Poly vs. Morningside, 3:20 p.m.; Rolling Hills vs. Crossroads, 6 p.m. Pool D: Torrey Pines vs. Bishop Montgomery, 11:20 a.m.; Palos Verdes vs. Artesia, 2 p.m.

WEDNESDAY--Pool A: Dominguez vs. North Torrance, 12:40 p.m.; Santa Monica vs. Hawthorne, 2 p.m. Pool B: Carson vs. South Torrance, 10 a.m.; Muir vs. El Camino, 6 p.m.; Pool C: Rolling Hills vs. Long Beach Poly, 4:40 p.m.; Morningside vs. Crossroads, 7:20 p.m. Pool D: Torrey Pines vs. Palos Verdes, 11:20 a.m.; Artesia vs. Bishop Montgomery, 3:20 p.m.

THURSDAY--Pool A: Dominguez vs. Santa Monica, 10 a.m.; North Torrance vs. Hawthorne, 3:20 p.m. Pool B: El Camino vs. South Torrance, 4:40 p.m.; Carson vs. Muir, 7:20 p.m. Pool C: Crossroads vs. Long Beach Poly, 2 p.m.; Rolling Hills vs. Morningside, 6 p.m. Pool D: Torrey Pines vs. Artesia, 11:20 a.m.; Palos Verdes vs. Bishop Montgomery, 12:40 p.m.

FRIDAY--Consolation semifinals, 10:30 and 11:50 a.m.; championship semifinals, 1:10 and 2:30 p.m.; consolation finals, 3:50 p.m.; third-place game, 5:10 p.m.; skills contest, 6:30 p.m.; championship finals, 7:30 p.m.