The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
Much will be said about the new playoff format for the CIF-Southern Section and how it impacts all sports, including boys’ basketball. But any formula that produces games like we saw on Friday night at Los Alamitos High must be getting something right.
Two public schools steeped in athletic tradition–separated by a lot more than the 10 miles between them–both put on a show for the capacity crowd in attendance. And on Valentine’s Day no less, it was hard not to be romantic about the best of high school sports.
But like any playoff game, there must be a winner and a loser, and this time fortune favored the home team. Los Al survived a furious second-half comeback from Long Beach Poly, winning the game 58-56 on a tip-in by senior Liam Gray with under three seconds left, sending the Griffins to the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals.
“Just a great environment,” said Los Al head coach Nate Berger. “You feel for the kids who ended their careers that way. A lot of good players over there who had great careers, won a lot of games, and are incredible playmakers … It showed in the second half, it’s really hard to stop those guys when they get going and they’re firing. We got a little lucky that they didn’t really hit all their momentum and groove in the first half, and we were able to hold that lead … And luckily, we escaped. That’s how it feels.”
Long Beach Poly senior and Cal signee Jovani Ruff had a terrific night for the Jackrabbits, leading all scorers with 24 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter alone. It was his three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game that brought Poly even for the first time all night, just moments before Gray was able to tap in the game winner.
In the process, Ruff set a new career scoring record for both Poly and the city of Long Beach, capping off a terrific high school career for one of the best players to ever wear the green & gold.
“It’s huge. Me and him have been building for four years … I’m just proud of him,” said Poly head coach Shelton Diggs after the game, overcome with emotion. “He earned it. He worked for everything he’s got, and I’m just very proud of him.”
The Griffins started out hot in their own gym, jumping out to an early 14-6 advantage. Poly was able to chip away and cut the deficit down to just three, but senior guard Wesley Trevino hit a triple at the buzzer to put Los Al up 21-15 after the opening frame.
That lead quickly grew to double-digits as the Griffins capitalized on 10 first-half turnovers from the Jackrabbits. But Poly was still within striking distance down 33-25 at the break, where they made some offensive adjustments that gave them a better rhythm the rest of the night.
“I had them thinking too much in the first half. We knew (Los Al) liked to run and jump and press, and I just think I had the guys thinking a little bit too much, instead of just playing,” said Diggs. “In the second half, I told them let’s just play, get the ball out, and go. And we just played and didn’t think so much, and stuff started opening up for us and started going our way.”
The Jackrabbits weathered an early onslaught of perimeter shots from Los Al to open the third quarter, as the Griffin lead grew to 15 points three minutes into the second half. But the veteran Jackrabbits were unfazed, ripping off a 7-0 run to get back within single digits.
But before they could get to the fourth quarter, Los Al’s Trent Minter banked in a three-pointer just before time expired, giving the Griffins their second buzzer-beater of the night and a 46-35 lead heading to the fourth.
Poly kept their foot on the gas to start that period, going on a 7-2 spurt to get within four points. A layup by the explosive Nana Ofoegbu (13 points) cut the deficit down to just two, 50-48, with four minutes left on the clock.
Los Al delivered a counterpunch with a high-arcing shot by Jordan Taylor, then another three from Trevino to put the lead back up to 55-48 with 2:51 to play.
The Jackrabbits still had plenty of fight left, and Ruff and Ofoegbu were both scoring effectively to chip away at the Los Al lead. A steal by Ofoegbu led to a pair of free throws with 1:10 left, and he split the pair to make it a 56-53 game.
On the ensuing possession, Poly’s Jonas Oware got his hand in to strip the ball, sending Ofoegbu off to the races with under 40 seconds to go. The Jackrabbits whipped the ball around the perimeter, finding Ruff all alone in front of the Poly bench. It’s the situation every great player dreams of, and Ruff met the moment. His shot ripped nylon and sent the traveling Poly fans into a frenzy, tying the game at 56-all with 30 seconds to play.
On the other end, Los Al played on without calling a timeout, and got a great look inside for Trevino who missed off the glass. Gray stuck his right hand up for the rebound and smacked it off the backboard and in, putting Los Al back in front for good.
Fans and players rushed the floor as the clock hit zero, but the officials went back and rightly added :02.7 on the game clock, leaving Poly with a chance for a desperation heave. However, Ruff was unable to get his halfcourt shot away before the buzzer sounded, giving Los Al an incredibly hard-fought victory.
“I was very proud of how they competed in the second half, they never gave up,” said Diggs of his players. “That’s a lesson you want to teach kids for life about never giving up and continuing to fight. But this is the Division 1 level, you’ve got to make the little plays. We’ve got to make layups, make free throws, block out and get a rebound, all that stuff. If you want to advance in this level of the playoffs, you have to do the little things, and that’s why they won.”
Minter scored a team-high 16 points for Los Al, with Trevino and Samori Guyness each adding 13 for the Griffins. When asked about what type of player Jovani Ruff is and how tough it was to gameplan for him, Berger gave high praise to Poly’s new all-time scoring champ.
“You can just tell that his athleticism has a next-level gear that he can go to. He changes speeds in a way that high school kids just can't do on average,” said Berger of Ruff. “He's a guy you can only hope to contain, and I thought we did as good of a job as we could for the most part … He's an elite player, and he'll have a great career.
“He had a great career here, and hopefully as an all-time record scorer, people will remember him for a long time and appreciate the player he was.”
The Jackrabbits finish their season at 23-7 overall, while Los Al (22-8) advances to play Rolling Hills Prep in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
