PREP BASKETBALL : Rolling Hills Holds Off Carson, 83-76, Will Face Vikings for Shores Title

Rolling Hills basketball Coach Cliff Warren did more than breathe a sigh of relief after his team hung on to defeat Carson, 83-76, Thursday night.

He confidently gave the Titans a pat on the back for pulling together after Carson, which had fallen behind by 13 points in the third quarter, pulled even at 69-69 with 3:54 left to play.

“I’m pretty happy about the way we played,” Warren said. “(Carson) came to the door and we shut it.”

As a result, Rolling Hills (3-0) will play in the championship game of the Pacific Shores Tournament for the second time in three years at 7:30 tonight at Redondo. The Titans face defending champion St. Bernard (3-0), which will be making its third consecutive appearance in the final.

Rolling Hills defeated the Vikings for the Pacific Shores crown in 1986 and owns a 3-0 record against St. Bernard over the last three years.

The Titans almost succumbed to Carson’s full-court defense in the second half. The Colts forced numerous turnovers and rallied behind guard Ray Bennett, who tied the game at 69-69 on a short jump shot.

Rolling Hills guard Steve Clover answered with a 3-point shot to put the Titans ahead for good with 3:45 left. He hit another 3-pointer less than a minute later to make it 77-71, and forward John Hardy scored 4 of his game-high 30 points down the stretch to put Carson away.

Hardy also led the Titans with 10 rebounds, while forward Ron Dinnel had 27 points and 8 rebounds. Clover added 19 points and guard Mark Tesar led Rolling Hills with 8 assists.

Warren said he wasn’t upset with the way his team handled the press.

“It’s tough, I don’t care how good a team you are,” he said. “If they’re in your face all the time, you’re not going to be able to do what you want.”

Bennett led Carson (3-2) with 22 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter when the Colts outscored Rolling Hills, 23-18.

St. Bernard 80, Morningside 66--Center Ed Stokes scored 21 points, forward Juno Armstrong had 20 and guard Mark Raveling added 19 to help the Vikings rally for a semifinal victory at Redondo.

St. Bernard outscored Morningside, 21-8, over the last four minutes to pull away for its third straight win without a loss. The Monarchs, who got 11 points from guard Donald Sanders, fell to 2-1.

Armstrong tipped in a basket to put St. Bernard up 66-60 and 6-11 Stokes followed it with a 3-point shot to give the Vikings a nine-point lead with 2:28 remaining.