Boys’ basketball: Long Beach Poly tops field in Fairfax tourney
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The first-round matchups are out for the Fairfax Summer Basketball Classic, and Long Beach Poly looks like the team to beat in the 16-team tournament that begins Monday, June 28, and ends with a championship game July 3 at 6 p.m.
Encino Crespi, which won the Southern Section Division 4AA championship, drew the Jackrabbits in the opening game. Crespi Coach Russell White asked to play a top team, and Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani handed him the likely No. 1 team in the state for next season.
Another intriguing matchup has City title favorite Woodland Hills Taft playing North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake on June 29. It’s the public vs. private school showdown people like to see. The winner would play Santa Ana Mater Dei or Gardena Serra in the second round.
One notable absence from the tournament is defending City and state Division I champion Westchester.
Here are the other opening-round games: Crenshaw vs. Pasadena; Orange Lutheran vs. St. Bernard; Los Angeles Loyola vs. Dorsey; Mater Dei vs. Gardena Serra; Fairfax vs. Santa Monica and Los Angeles Price vs. La Canada.
St. Bernard announced the hiring last week of former Lawndale Leuzinger Coach Reggie Morris Jr. as its new coach.
-- Eric Sondheimer