It almost seemed like a conspiracy had unfolded during the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol Cutters Cup Lifeguard Tournament on Aug. 7, as if a pair of Long Beach Island patrols helped their local brothers to oust one of the big guns from farther south.

“Ocean City always has a great competition team, and they’ve been near the top in our tournament a lot,” said Cedars Capt. Randy Townsend, whose crew pulled off another victory with 44 points, edging Ocean City by three.