The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
Neither team will likely carry fond memories of Friday’s Moore League contest between Long Beach Poly and Lakewood, but the Jackrabbits will take the outcome of their 66-50 victory over the Lancers on their home floor.
Poly remains atop the league standings with a 7-0 record, and a 17-6 mark overall, while Lakewood drops to 12-11 on the season and a 3-5 Moore League record. That leaves the Lancers in a tense battle with Wilson, Cabrillo, and possibly Jordan for third and fourth place, and the league’s last two automatic playoff spots.
Despite the victory, Poly head coach Shelton Diggs was frustrated with his team throughout the night, and challenged his bench to step up going forward as his team prepares for the postseason.
“It’s finals week, you know, the guys were focused on that, but I’ve got to get some help from the bench. My starter group was tired,” said Diggs after the game. “That’s why they get tired, because I can’t put anybody else in. So I just need some help from my bench, somebody that’s gonna come in and give us something so the guys can get a little rest and finish games out a little bit better.”
The Poly starters scored all but two of their 66 points on Friday, led by 24 points from senior Jovani Ruff, who was an efficient 11/19 from the floor. He had 17 points in the first half to push Poly out to a 36-24 lead at intermission, and the ‘Rabbits led by as many as 23 in the second half.
The Lancers never gave up, and put together a 10-0 run in the fourth while trimming the deficit down to 12 in the final minutes, but it was too little too late as Poly held on for victory.
Junior big man Jonas Oware had a productive night down low, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. He got off to a hot start hitting each of his first six field goal attempts, and was a difference maker on both ends of the floor with his length.
“I feel like if I can score down low, that opens it up for my team,” said the 6-foot-9 Oware, who has become a much bigger part of Poly’s offense as a junior. “And if I can be reliable down there, it’s just good for us overall.”
Junior point guard Nana Ofoegbu had a nice second-half surge for the Jackrabbits, scoring 13 of his 15 points after the break.
For Lakewood, Keaton Lewis scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half and hit four three-pointers for the Lancers. Raphael Johnson was right behind him with 14 points, and point guard Anthony Williams had seven points and five assists.
Neither team was at its best, and they’ll look to improve quickly with important games on the horizon for both sides.
“Obviously we need to play better than this, but right now we got a lot of people sick, and have a few injuries, but we’re gonna get back,” Oware said. “We’re trying to elevate to a higher level before we get to the playoffs.”
Poly has five league games left, beginning on Monday at Wilson. Lakewood will be at Millikan on Monday as they face the current second-place team in the standings. They’ve also got a home game with Wilson on Wednesday and a pair of games against Compton left on their schedule.
