It was a matchup between two top-twenty teams, and two defending state champions when Long Beach Poly tussled with Bellarmine-Jefferson at the Ayala Extravaganza’s marquee game on Saturday.  Poly (the Division 1 champs) got an early lead over Bell-Jeff (the Division 5 champs), 16-9, but a 10-0 run made it 26-22 Bell-Jeff in the second quarter.

Bell-Jeff held a one-point lead with just four minutes to go, but unfortunately for them, Ariya Crook-Williams showed up in a big way.  Crook-Williams (who Poly coach Carl Buggs has long said has the ability to take over a game) scored nine of Poly’s last eleven points, finishing with a game-high 18 points as Poly went on to win, 62-57.

The Jackrabbits play Cabrillo on the road tonight at 5pm.