From LBPOSTSports.com: Defense wins championships—on Tuesday night in Poly’s Ron Palmer Pavilion, it was almost enough to win a quarterfinal game against a very good Dominguez Dons team that’s seeded third in the 32-team tournament. Dominguez was averaging 90 points per-game through the first two rounds, the best in the bracket—Poly’s defense locked down, but turnovers and some missed opportunities led to a 52-49 defeat of the Jackrabbits.
Video by J.J. Fiddler
In the early going, it was obvious that the teams were matching up so well that the packed—and we mean packed—Ron Palmer Pavilion crowd was in for a treat. At the very least, the teams’ mistakes were countering each other. On one early possession, the Dons dominated the offensive glass, as the ‘Rabbits simply couldn’t get two hands on the ball. But despite getting eight attempts, Dominguez never capitalized, eventually being whistled for a traveling violation. Alexis Moore was as effective as ever running Poly’s offense, putting up eleven points, but four crucial assists; the sophomore guard was also the key to Poly’s penetration against an athletic Dons defense.
Moore and Julian Camper, Poly’s senior center, led the team in the first half, with 17 points—Camper pulled down five offensive rebounds in the game, using his footwork and positioning to clean up a lot of his teammates’ missed shots. On their strength, and the strength of a Poly defense that forced the Dons to take a lot of awkward shots, the ‘Rabbits were only down one at halftime, 24-23. In the third quarter, it was Shelton Boykin who took over for the ‘Rabbits, with a good chunk of his team-leading fourteen points. Boykin shot effectively, 6/9 on the night, and his playmaking ability got the rowdy crowd into it (for a good look at the sheer size of it, check out JJ’s highlight video—it has to have been a record crowd, because the gym literally wouldn’t hold any more people).
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