Poly had a seven-point lead at halftime and an eight-point lead early in the third quarter, but ultimately couldn’t convert down the stretch on offense, as they fell 67-53 to Westchester, just shy of reaching the SoCal Regional Final. The game was much closer than the score indicates, as the Comets hit a number of free throws.
Poly looked great defensively in the first half, as they really rocked Westchester back on their heels. Ryan Anderson and Robert Nixon both hit every shot they took in the fourth quarter, combining for 13 of Poly’s 18 points. The first turning point of the game came when Westchester’s Reggie Murphy was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk. The slam had given Westchester a 15-11 lead, but Nixon’s two free throws kicked off a 7-0 Poly run to close the quarter, and it carried over into the second, as Poly jumped out to a 21-15 lead.
The Comets’ best player, Dwayne Polee, played sloppily in the first, picking up his third foul with just 4:12 left in the second. Poly took advantage of that lapse and went on a streak, taking a 33-26 lead into halftime. After that, unfortunately for the Rabbit faithful, things began to change.
The Rabbits sunk just one field goal in the third quarter, a nice shot by Alexis Moore. They were outscored 17-7 by a Westchester team that suddenly looked like they had the athletic advantage they were supposed to have had all game. “They were just more aggressive in the second half,” said Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer. “[Polee] played like the best player on the court tonight.”
That he did, scoring 12 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, while carrying four fouls. Polee managed to put his team on his back and, with an and-one to begin closing the lead in the third quarter, and two free throws to take the lead over for the final time, single-handedly disrupt Poly’s defense. His cutting created opportunities for the rest of the team, as he found Kareem Jamar beyond the arc and Murphy in the paint. Strangely, the referees did miss a fifth foul on Polee, when they inadvertently gave a different player’s number to the scoring table. Polee already had his jersey halfway off when the number was given. “I mean, he did foul out,” said Comets coach Ed Azzam of his senior scorer. “The ref just didn’t know it.”
In the fourth, the Rabbits rallied valiantly, but Westchester’s experience, and a slew of missed free throws from Poly kept them down. “Not just that we missed free throws,” said Metoyer, “but we missed them while they were scoring, when we needed them.” The Rabbits were just 14-29 at the line.
Poly closed to within two on a bucket and a free throw by Roshcon Prince, which made it 51-49 with 4:03 left in the game. But they wouldn’t hit another field goal until three minutes later, down by ten, and they couldn’t get any desperation threes to fall down the stretch, as the Comets sank their free throws.
On one hand it’s always a disappointment for a team to end their season short of their goal—in Poly’s case, a CIF and state championship. On the other hand, this is a young team with an unbelievable amount of talent coming back. “For what we went through with adversity and the injury to Shelton,” said Metoyer. “I thought our kids were consistent—we never lost two games in a row, and we played some of the best teams in the area. They played hard every game; as a coach, you can’t ask for more than that.”