Defense wins championships—on Tuesday night in Poly’s Ron Palmer Pavilion, it was almost enough to win a quarterfinal game against a very good Dominguez Dons team that’s seeded third in the 32-team tournament. Dominguez was averaging 90 points per-game through the first two rounds, the best in the bracket—Poly’s defense locked down, but turnovers and some missed opportunities led to a 52-49 defeat of the Jackrabbits.
In the early going, it was obvious that the teams were matching up so well that the packed—and we mean packed—Ron Palmer Pavilion crowd was in for a treat. At the very least, the teams’ mistakes were countering each other. On one early possession, the Dons dominated the offensive glass, as the ‘Rabbits simply couldn’t get two hands on the ball. But despite getting eight attempts, Dominguez never capitalized, eventually being whistled for a traveling violation. Alexis Moore was as effective as ever running Poly’s offense, putting up eleven points, but four crucial assists; the sophomore guard was also the key to Poly’s penetration against an athletic Dons defense.
Moore and Julian Camper, Poly’s senior center, led the team in the first half, with 17 points—Camper pulled down five offensive rebounds in the game, using his footwork and positioning to clean up a lot of his teammates’ missed shots. On their strength, and the strength of a Poly defense that forced the Dons to take a lot of awkward shots, the ‘Rabbits were only down one at halftime, 24-23. In the third quarter, it was Shelton Boykin who took over for the ‘Rabbits, with a good chunk of his team-leading fourteen points. Boykin shot effectively, 6/9 on the night, and his playmaking ability got the rowdy crowd into it (for a good look at the sheer size of it, check out JJ’s highlight video—it has to have been a record crowd, because the gym literally wouldn’t hold any more people).
A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, the Dons went into the bonus, setting the table for one of the evening’s more bizarre developments—it was a to-the-wire finish, but the Dons could easily have put it away if they’d hit their free throw shots. Poly was drawing a lot of whistles, and the Dons took 27 free throws—they converted just nine attempts. Poly stayed within five points of the Dons throughout, until Moore fouled out with just over two minutes to go—as he’d been running the offense, and managing the Poly penetration, the wind seemed to come out of their sails offensively at that point. Camper and Boykin pulled it closer, but with 1:06 on the clock, Dominguez took a six point lead. Then the strangest thing happened—the Dons got the ball off a Poly turnover, and were fouled. In the double-bonus, they missed both.
Poly got the ball, and guard Michael Mayes pivoted in the corner to find just enough room to throw up a shot…which fell in, cutting the lead to three. Poly fouled again, and again Dominguez missed both, giving the ‘Rabbits the ball with twenty seconds left. Mayes got an awkward shot off, which was rebounded by ‘Rabbit Ryan Anderson, who dished the ball outside to Robert Nixon, Jr., who got a decent look but also missed. The Dons got the ball, and Poly fouled—with just six seconds on the clock, the Dons again missed both free throws. Mayes got off a final attempt which was off-target, the buzzer rang, and Poly’s season was over with the 52-49 loss.
Their defensive effort has to be applauded, holding Dominguez to just 35% shooting, and just 52 points, their lowest point total in a win all season. But as many opportunities as the Dons missed, Poly just missed one or two more, as the ‘Rabbits only shot 8/15 from the charity stripe, and an uncharacteristic 3/17 from beyond the arc. Poly also committed 15 turnovers, to Dominguez’s 16. Leaders for the ‘Rabbits were Boykin, with 14, Camper, with 12 points and 11 boards in his final game at Poly, and Moore, with 11 points and four assists. For Dominguez, it was all Myron Green, who had 19 points; Keala King added 8 points and nine rebounds, and Robert Mandigo had ten points and nine boards.
“We had a lot of expectations before the season,” said Poly’s head coach Sharrief Metoyer after the game. “The first was to win the Moore League, then we wanted to compete in CIF. We were capable of doing it—I think our resume proved that. We played a tough opponent tonight, it came down to a few plays, and we failed to execute—that’s what basketball is all about. But all in all, it was a great season, I’m pleased with it—I’m sad for our seniors, guys who have played their hearts out and who were here when things were harder. I think our young guys grew up this season, and I think they’ll continue to grow.”
Poly will return a number of key players next season, including Boykin, Moore, and Ryan Anderson. The Jackrabbits, who were the final Moore League team still competing in the bracket, finish the season at 23-6.