From LBPOSTSports.com: History was in the air in the Jordan gym Monday at the Dr. Floyd Massey Jr./MLK Day Basketball Spectacular, as clips from Dr. King’s greatest speeches were played during halftime of each of the three games, and the crowd buzzed about the upcoming inauguration. In between, there was some pretty good basketball too, as both Long Beach teams won—the Poly Jackrabbits defeated the Mayfair Monsoons for a second time this season, 65-48, and the home-court Panthers repelled the Bev Hills Normans’ invasion, winning 83-59. (LA Jordan topped Muir 64-47 in the early game.)
For the ‘Rabbits, it was the same story it’s been all season: defense, defense, defense. After the explosive play of Monsoons point guard Tim Douglas in the first quarter kept Mayfair close, Poly switched to a zone defense, clogging the lane, and limiting Douglas (who scored eleven of his team’s 17 in the opening period) to just six points for the rest of the game. But Douglas, who didn’t get a point in the second quarter, wasn’t the only Monsoon shut down—Mayfair only mustered a total of five points in the second, giving Poly a 38-22 lead. After allowing only another ten points in the third, Poly went on to win another defensively-motivated contest.
“I thought it was a great effort,” said Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer. “We expected them to come out with revenge on their mind, and we wanted to try to match their intensity.”
Click here for the rest of the story by Mike Guardabascio…