Poly was supposed to win their first-round game against the Montebello Oilers, which the ‘Rabbits hosted: they did, 59-36. But it was the way in which they won that has many Jackrabbit fans smiling, as Poly’s guards settled down and shot better from the outside, and they proved once again that they have an interior game that can be effective, even against big competition. “Big competition” means Antonio Worthy, the 6’10” 300-pound sophomore center for the Oilers, who soaked up a lot of space in the middle.
“When I realized they had a guy that big,” said Poly’s senior center Julian Camper, “I knew I had to attack him, and find out how physical he was. He was pretty physical,” Camper said, smiling. Camper (who gave up five inches and thirty-five pounds to Worthy) held his team together, with a game-high 14 points, five rebounds, and a calming presence on and off the floor. His ability to stay physical with Worthy kept the Oilers’ best scoring option relatively quiet—Camper and Poly forward Ryan Anderson bracketed Worthy and made it hard for him to move, or even get a shot off. They let their guards handle the Oilers’ perimeter threats, and with Poly’s height advantage at that position, “handle” is a good word to describe their performance, as the ‘Rabbits guards notched six blocks, and put together their best defensive effort of the season.
Poly jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, and never looked back, leading 16-7 after the first quarter, and 27-12 at halftime. In addition to the defensive effort, Poly’s guards also had their best night shooting in recent weeks, with Michael Mayes, Alexis Moore, and Ronald Nezey going 6/9 from the field in the first half. “I told them before the game that I trust them,” Camper said after, a meaningful statement from a senior to a group that consists primarily of underclassmen for Poly. Camper also pointed out that, since there was no girls’ game beforehand, the team had about an hour to shoot around before the game, extra time he thinks helped them during the game. “When we started shooting, we weren’t hitting anything,” he said.
Poly’s free throw shooting, usually solid, also helped prevent the game from getting too interesting in the second half—they didn’t get to the line until halfway through the third quarter, but were 8/10 from that point on. The Oilers, on the other hand, missed nine shots from the charity stripe, and didn’t do much to help claw their way back in. “There’s always going to be a little jitteryness in the playoffs,” said Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer after the game, “but when it settled down, we were able to get into the flow of the game. It’s one and one, so it’s crucial to just not look ahead, prepare for each game and to play with urgency.”
The ‘Rabbits’ next chance to prepare and play with urgency will be an urgent situation indeed, as Poly, an 11 seed, will face 6-seeded Pasadena on Friday. Location will be determined by a coin flip today—check back and we’ll keep you updated!
Other leaders for Poly were Nezey, with ten points, Ryan Anderson, with six points and six boards, and Alexis Moore, who had six points on 3/3 shooting, and four assists as he managed the ball very well.