PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Colts Grab Lead Early, Hang On to Beat Inglewood, 84-70

Carson and Inglewood, two of the top prep basketball teams in the South Bay, were missing key personnel Wednesday in their quarterfinal game in the 37th annual Pacific Shores Tournament at Mira Costa.

Carson was without four players, including two starters, who are preparing for Friday night’s L.A. City 4-A football championship game. Inglewood had all of its players, but Coach Vince Combs was absent for the second straight game because of kidney stones.

While Carson seemingly was at a greater disadvantage, it didn’t turn out that way. The Colts grabbed the lead late in the first quarter and held it the rest of the way en route to a 84-70 win over an out-of-sync Inglewood team.

Senior guard Ray Bennett led Carson with a game-high 22 points, center Eric Peacock added 18 points and 10 rebounds and forward Vince Washington, who did not start because he arrived late from a doctor’s appointment, had 19 points and 6 rebounds.

“I can’t complain,” said Carson Coach Rich Masson, whose team improved to 3-1. “Inglewood is a good team. I can’t see us playing much better even if we had those four guys.”

The Colts will again be without football players Greg Lindsey, Nkosi Littleton, Eric Bender and Michael Ross when they meet Rolling Hills at 6:15 tonight in the semifinals at Redondo. Lindsey, a 6-2 guard, and Littleton, a 6-2 forward, are starters. Bender, a 6-5 forward, is the team’s sixth man.

While Carson survived without a good portion of its squad, Inglewood fell apart without Combs, who is out indefinitely. Carson had no trouble breaking the Sentinels’ press and the Colts got inside for many easy baskets.

“Our team is not as disciplined when (Combs) is not here,” said forward Harold Miner. People just put up shots.”

Miner, a 6-5 senior who signed early with USC, scored only 4 points in the first half when Carson opened a 44-37 lead. He finished with a team-high 19 thanks to a nice finish, but last year’s South Bay Player of the Year was not a factor during most of the game.

During timeouts, Miner sat at the end of the bench and appeared to pay little attention to stand-in coach Emanuel Gary, who normally runs the junior varsity team.

“I’m sure it was a factor,” said Masson, referring to Combs’ absence. “They’re a much more disciplined team with Vince.”

Carson opened a 74-60 lead midway through the fourth quarter but Inglewood closed to within 5 points, 75-70, with a little over a minute to play on a 3-point shot by Miner. The Colts then made 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Inglewood (1-1) will play El Segundo (2-3) at 8 tonight in the fifth-place semifinals at Mira Costa.

Morningside 82, Redondo 59--For the most part, Morningside Coach Carl Franklin was pleased with his team’s defensive effort in the quarterfinals of the Pacific Shores Tournament at Redondo. But Franklin said the victory wasn’t a true indication of how well the Monarchs can defend.

The real test comes tonight when Morningside faces St. Bernard in the semifinals at 8 at Redondo.

“We like to play pressure defense and we think that defense is a big part of our game,” he said. “I don’t know if we play it that well yet, though. I think we’ll find out against St. Bernard.”

The game was tied at 16 after one quarter, but the Monarchs’ pressure defense began forcing turnovers early in the second period. Morningside went on a 10-0 run and led, 38-28, at intermission. The Monarchs forced three straight turnovers to begin the third period and opened a 17-point lead.

“When we came out in the second half I think we were ready and they (Redondo) looked a little flat,” Franklin said. “We kept pressing them because we thought they were a little bit vulnerable to the press. We just kept it on and it finally worked for us.”

Redondo (1-1) trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half and could get no closer than 13.

Forward Eddie Scott paced Morningside (2-0) with 16 points, while center Chris Vance had 14. Guard Jonathan Madison added 10.

Redondo was led by Mike Houck’s 17 points and teammate David Dinnell had 16 before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.