Before the Moore League’s last two unbeatens squared off in the Ron Palmer Pavilion, the atmosphere was hyped—the stands were nearly full despite the rain and flooding across Long Beach, as the community was out in force to witness what was sure to be a classic, an epic clash of the league’s class.  Twenty-eight minutes of game time later, Poly was up 71-35, just four points away from a running clock with four minutes left, going on to a more-than-decisive 73-40 win that puts them at 5-0, while Compton picks up their first league loss and falls to 5-1.  What happened?

According to Compton coach Tony Thomas, “We came out ready to play, but they pushed us out of our game.  They played a physical, contact-heavy game, and we didn’t respond well.  We got confused and lost it, and they put it on us.”

To go into a little more detail: Compton did come out fired up, running out to an 11-6 lead, before Poly gained the advantage inside.  With starting Tarbabes center Shelton Black on the bench with two quick fouls, Compton had no answer for Poly’s Ryan Anderson, who was extraordinary on Friday, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks (he had 10 and 6 in the first quarter alone).  The Rabbits banged the ball inside, and Anderson kept making plays—the physical play was also effective at drawing foul calls.  In addition to getting Black out of the game, Poly got to the free throw line, getting seven of their first 20 points off free throws (and finishing 15-19 at the line).

The knockout punch came early, as well, as the home team stole all momentum with Alex Carmon’s beyond-halfcourt, one-handed, off-balance heave as time expired at the end of the first—which somehow went in.  The shot—which you have to see our video to believe—gave Poly a 20-13 lead after one, but it took the wind out of Compton.  Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer said Carmon deserved even more style points because a Compton player was on his non-shooting shoulder as the ball went up.  “I knew it was good,” he joked after the game, “but he got fouled!  That should’ve been four points.”

Carmon played one of the best games of his career, going 7-7 with 19 points—including to the circus shot.

It was all Poly from that point, as the Rabbits got out to a 6-0 run in the second, and then a 16-5 run while holding Compton to 1-15 shooting in the quarter.  The Tarbabes, in response to the physical play inside and out, resorted to lofting up ill-advised jumpers for most of the rest of the game, and the Rabbits led by 18 at halftime, 22 after three quarters, and 33 at the game’s conclusion.  Metoyer was happy with the win (and the margin), and gave credit to his team’s defense for setting up the offensive production.

Anderson, who has stepped into his own in the absence of Shelton Boykin, gone for the year with a wrist injury, said he felt comfortable in the paint, but admitted he didn’t think his team would win by such a margin.  “Even our coaches were surprised,” he said.  “But we know what we’re capable of—we just needed to stay determined.”

The leader for Compton was Cliff Sims, Jr. who had 17 points despite a poor shooting performance (he was 6-18).  Compton’s two other big guns, Allan Guei and Anthony January, combined for just nine points, on 2-10 shooting—the explosive sophomore January didn’t hit a field goal in the loss.  Poly’s freshman phenom Roshcon Prince deserves some credit for that last stat, as he did yeoman’s work on defense (while also throwing in 11 points).

For Poly, it’s on to the next game—which was actually supposed to be their last game, before rain forced Cabrillo to postpone Monday’s game until next week.  “That’s a scary game because it’s out of sequence,” said Metoyer.

Thomas did his best to find the silver lining in the game.  “We weren’t going to win them all,” he said.  “We needed to be humbled—I didn’t want to lose it, but now we have a reason to go back to the drawing board and get to work.”

Poly’s game at Cabrillo Monday will sew up the first round of league play, and then we reset on Wednesday as Compton hosts Wilson.

Come back tomorrow for a full standings box!