The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial
Los Alamitos’ boys’ basketball team dances to one song and one song only–a chaos-causing full-court press that pushes the ball to the outside of the court and traps it there. It’s been effective for the Griffins this year, pushing them to a 10-2 record as one of the best teams in Orange County. On Tuesday night, their press disrupted Long Beach Poly en route to an 86-70 victory over the Jackrabbits.
“Every game, every second, that’s what we’re making other teams deal with,” said Los Al coach Nate Berger. “We have a lot of guys who can wear the crown as our guy for the night. We want to put pressure on the other team, to play that crazy havoc style that puts the ball into someone’s hands they might not want it in.”
It was an effective strategy for a young Poly team that was playing its first game with star Jovani Ruff back from injury. After a high-pace first quarter, the Jackrabbits led 19-18, before the Griffins’ press flipped the script in the second quarter. They went on an 18-0 run that included eight straight points off quick successive backcourt turnovers, with Poly struggling to get the ball across halfcourt. By the time Poly settled in the Griffins led 42-25, and the Jackrabbits spent the rest of the game playing catchup.
From the end up that 18-0 run to the end of the game, the two teams played even, with Poly winning the third quarter 21-12 to get back into the game. But the miscues were big enough to take the Jackrabbits out of it, and they turned it over on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter after having cut the lead to eight points.
The Griffins’ press lets them utilize their depth and balance in scoring, and it also lets them harness the energy of their crowd, with a student section that was rocking for the team’s big win over Poly on Tuesday.
“I think it’s fun to watch and it brings people in,” said Berger. “Playing at home impacts it–we’ve always had a good crowd. But we talk about it in team meetings. Everything goes into winning a basketball game and that includes do you have 100 kids there, or 400 kids? So do your part to make that happen because we feed off the energy of that crowd.”
The Griffins were led by Trent Minter’s 24 points, with 19 from Wesley Trevino and 18 from Samori Guyness. Liam Gray also had 12 points for Los Al.
For Poly, it was a similar story to how much of the season has gone, with bright spots throughout the game but a frustrating result. Poly has lost to the Division 1 programs they’ve faced this season as they’ve built a 4-7 overall record. Ruff’s return helped as he scored 26 points. Giovanni Ofoegbu had 18 points and Nana Ofoegbu had 10 points.
Poly coach Shelton Diggs credited Los Al.
“We weren’t organized, and we weren’t decisive with the ball, they did a good job of pressuring us and putting stress on us,” said Diggs. “It’s nice to see Jovani back on the court, we’ve got our full team back and we have a week of practice before we start Moore League play next week. We’ve got to get ready.”
