ROUNDUP : Morningside Boys Clobber Claremont, 82-51, in the Viking Classic at Las Vegas

Senior forward Tyrone Paul scored a game-high 16 points Wednesday to lead a balanced Morningside basketball team to an 82-51 victory over Claremont in the first round of the Viking Classic at Valley High School in Las Vegas.

Paul, who also had six steals and five assists, topped four Monarchs in double figures. Center Jeff Crowe and forward Arthur Savage each scored 14 points and guard Martel Bland had 13. Crowe led the team with 10 rebounds, while point guard Donald Sanders had 10 assists.

Morningside (8-1) will play Hawthorne (6-3) in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. today.

The Monarchs stretched a 39-27 halftime lead to 65-43 at the end of the third quarter with the help of their fast break.

“We were able to run effectively in the third quarter,” co-Coach Ron Randle said. “(Claremont) started to melt down by the end of the quarter.”

The inside play of 6-foot-7 Crowe was also instrumental in Morningside’s blowout, Randle said.

Hawthorne 61, Bishop O’Dowd 39--The Cougars used the press to outscore their opponent from Oakland, 16-2, in the second quarter en route to a first-round victory in the Viking Classic.

“The press really worked well for us,” said Hawthorne Coach Richard Wells. “We forced turnovers and were able to convert our shots.”

Sophomore forward Shanta Cotright led a balanced Hawthorne attack with 15 points and guard Tremaine Gauthier added 13.

It was the third consecutive victory for the Cougars heading into today’s meeting with Morningside.

“That will be a good game for us,” Wells said. “I think we can play with Morningside.”

Carson 82, Royal 65--The Colts took control in the first quarter, outscoring Royal, 31-9, and never looked back in a Viking Classic opener.

Guard Bobby Kelly led four Carson players in double figures with 17 points, followed by guard Michael Ross (15) and forwards Nkosi Littleton (14) and soph Rudolph Washington (10).

Carson, which improved to 7-4, will play St. Bernard (5-3) in the second round at 5:45 tonight. St. Bernard advanced with a 74-63 victory over Camino Real League rival Verbum Dei.

Redondo 87, South Pasadena 74--Sophomore forwards Dave Cottey and Ryan Turner each scored 18 points to help the Sea Hawks register their first win of the season in the consolation quarterfinals of the Nogales Tournament at La Puente.

Redondo (1-8) will play either San Gabriel or Mayfair in the semifinals at 2 p.m. today.

Jason Correa and Emmett Richardson each added 15 points and sophomore guard Ted Silva contributed 10 for Redondo, which extended a one-point halftime lead to eight in the third quarter.

Glendora 79, Palos Verdes 56--Glendora lost record-setting scorer Tracy Murray to UCLA, but the Tartans might have a budding star on the way up. Freshman guard Adam Jacobson scored a game-high 26 points in the first round of the Chino Tournament to help drop Palos Verdes below .500.

Glendora (7-2) blew the game open in the third quarter by outscoring Palos Verdes, 27-6, to take a 64-29 lead.

The Sea Kings, who fell to 4-5, were led by Chris Castello with 14 points, including four three-point shots.

Serra 68, Mountain View 52--Guard Kenny Davis scored 14 points to lead the Cavaliers (3-2) in the first round of the Ontario Tournament.

Upland 70, El Segundo 65--The Eagles went cold in the fourth quarter, making just one field goal, and lost in the quarterfinals of the Nogales Tournament.

El Segundo (5-5) was outscored, 17-7, in the fourth quarter and managed its only basket on a three-point shot by guard Scott Panfil, who finished with 18. Forward Tete Seefried led the Eagles with 19 and center Ken Talanoa added 15.

Upland’s top player, Rich Brodbeck (25 points, seven three-point shots), fouled out with 4:50 left and his team trailing by four, but El Segundo was unable to capitalize on his absence.