A quick look at what’s standing in front of the six Long Beach high schools tonight as they take the court in first-round CIF action.
Poly vs. Great Oak, @ Poly, 7pm
Poly, the no. 2 seed in the Division 1 bracket, is hosting their first-round playoff match tonight against Great Oak. While Great Oak is an at-large bid (from the Southwestern League), they do have one player that could put a scare into the Rabbits faithful. “I actually haven’t seen them,” says Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer. “All I know is LaBradford Franklin.” The 6-3 senior point guard (wearing jersey #3) plays on the same travel ball team as Poly’s Robert Nixon, and according to everyone who’s seen him, he’s legit. Franklin averages 17 points a game, 5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 3 rebounds, all of which lead his team except rebounds. “A point guard like that can be a scary thought,” says Metoyer.
Fortunately for him, Poly’s strength is definitely its defense, and unless Andrew Tuccinardi (#23) or another role player steps up, it’s hard to image the Rabbits being taken down by one player. Poly will also get the boost of having Shelton Boykin further healed from his wrist injury. Metoyer says he’s shooting jumpers and free throws with his right hand again, as he gets his range of motion back (he, like every Poly coach, also recommends Doc Dossman, the doctor who’s helped Boykin heal well ahead of schedule with cold laser therapy).
“We had some goals before the season started,” says Metoyer. “Obviously winning the Moore League was one of them. Now we’re moving on to the next goal of winning CIF; but we can’t do that without winning the first game.”
Jordan @ Vista Murrieta, 7pm
The Panthers are also taking on a team from the Southwestern League, as they’ll visit fellow three-seed Vista Murrieta. The Panthers, while on the road thanks to a bad draw, will be favored as they’re the 16-seed in the bracket. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, as the Broncos have some quality wins and played league champ Chapparal to a three-point loss.
Like Poly’s opponent, the Broncos’ offense runs primarily through one player: Ian Mozeleski, a 6-1 senior who plays both guard and forward. Mozeleski averages 21 poitns a game, and will be tough for Jordan to contain if they don’t play 32 minutes of defense, a weakness of theirs this season. The Broncos also have a paint presence with a trio of bangers, Davin Guinn, Derrick Brown, and Kevin Bouldin, who are all averaging over seven boards a game.
If Jordan wins, they’ll face top-seed Mater Dei in the second round.
Lakewood @ Redlands, 7pm
Tonight the Lancers drive out to Redlands, the two-seed from the Citrus Belt League (Eisenhower finished first). The Terriers are the brackets 13-seed, and definitely the favorite tonight.
If Lakewood wants to pull the upset and knock them off, and head towards a likely home game against four-seed Rancho Verde, they’re going to need to stop a prolific scorer in Matt Green, who averages 23 points per-game, backed up by Marcus Davis averaging 10 a game. The Terriers are a short team, with an average starting height of right around six-foot, so Lakewood’s Jared Garber could go off and help give them the boost to victory.
Cabrillo @ Centennial, 7pm
It’s been a great, and historic year for this gritty Cabrillo Jaguars team—if they pull off the upset of the year tonight and knock off Centennial, the three-seed in the whole bracket, it’s safe to say the whole SoCal hoops world will know who they are. But this team has relished the scrappy underdog role all year, and there’s no doubt they don’t mind taking on the Big VIII champ, even as an at-large bid from the Westside.
It won’t be easy, of course, particularly on the defensive side of the court, as Centennial has a number of guys who can go off—including four players averaging 15 points per-game or more. 12 of their 27 games, the Huskies have scored 80+ points, so they’re definitely a handful.
Compton Vs. West Ranch, @ Compton, 7pm
Over in the Division 2 bracket, the Moore League’s two-seed is a big fish in a small pond, netting the seventh-seed in the whole bracket, and the Moore League’s only other home game. They’ll face West Ranch tonight, for a chance to advance to the second round, probably to face Valencia.
They shouldn’t have too much trouble with the West Ranch Wildcats, who are an at-large from the Foothill League, having grabbed just enough wins to qualify for that status (they’re 12-14 overall). West Ranch has a couple quality wins, but it’s hard to imagine Compton won’t overwhelm them with size and speed, and multi-faceted scorers like Cliff Sims and Anthony January, and of course the speedy Alan Guei running point.
St. Anthony Vs. Bishop Diego, @ St. Anthony, 7pm
Down in the Division 5 bracket, the Saints are making some noise—not as much as their top-seeded girls’ counterparts, but still, a league championship and a five-seed in the bracket are nothing to sneeze at. Tonight they host Bishop Diego in a very winnable game against the Cardinals, the at-large bid from the Frontier League.
They have three decent scorers in Hayden Slaught, Noah Tack, and the versatile Elias Munoz, but they’re an undersized team, and the Saints should be able to handle them.