There are now three guarantees in life. Death. Taxes. And an unforgettable game anytime Poly boys’ basketball travels to the Inland Empire.
A few weeks ago in the CIF quarterfinals, Alexis Moore nailed a three pointer with seconds left to lift Poly over Los Osos. Last night just a few miles from Los Osos, Moore found Ryan Anderson for the winning lay up at Etiwanda and a 67-64 victory that sends the Jackrabbits to the State regional semifinal against Westchester.
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One three point game deserves another, and Poly exacted revenge after Etiwanda sent the Jackrabbits home in the CIF Southern Section semifinals, 55-52.
“When we found out we were going to play them we were excited… we knew we were going to play better,” said Poly head coach Sharrief Metoyer. “They are a tough, gritty team and they did a great job… our defense kept it tight.”
It was exactly that all night long as the Jackrabbits took a 30-29 lead to the half and the biggest lead of the night was five points. Etiwanda’s Byron Wesley poured in 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and it looked like the Eagles would pull away with a five-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
But it was time for the three Poly bigs to take over. Something they didn’t do in the fourth quarter of the loss to Etiwanda.
Setting the tone was Roschon Prince, whose maturity continues to amaze. The 6’6″ freshman ruled the paint and stayed active for all four quarters on his way to a game-high 21 points. His lay up and the foul halfway through the fourth quarter sparked a huge momentum swing.
“You never want to see a player go down,” said Metoyer of the early-season injury to Shelton Boykin. “But he took the opportunity and we got to see the maturation of Roschon Prince, the future… On defense and the timely offensive rebounding… he’s a huge reason we were able to play well down low.”
Another reason is the aforementioned Boykin. Since returning from the broken wrist he’s been a spark off the bench, and that story was the same last night with Etiwanda leading by four with about five minutes remaining in the game. Boykin hit a jumper, stole the ball, and found Anderson for an easy two in the blink of an eye to tie it up.
Finally in the middle was Ryan Anderson. The 6’8″ junior struggled to get involved in the CIF loss, but last night he was the go-to player in the fourth quarter where he scored seven of his 15 points. And when the Jackrabbits trailed by a point, 64-63, with 16 seconds remaining, Anderson was the option.
“It was a simple ball screen,” said Metoyer of the game-winning bucket. “I told them to get to the front of the rim and they’d get fouled because they were calling the touch foul all night… they came off Ryan, and Alexis made a great pass.”
Moore came across the timeline and waited for Anderson to get to the top of the key. When he was set, Moore brought his defender directly to Anderson’s chest. Etiwanda’s Jordan Daniels fought through the screen, but when Moore went to the block, that left Anderson wide open in front of the rim.
“I kept telling Ryan all night to get open and I’d find him,” said Moore. “After I moved and he came free I was like ‘oh, too easy.’“
“I just needed to make sure I finished,” said Anderson of the game-winner. “This season has been full of ups and downs, and we found a way tonight… it felt good to get them back.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty sweet,” agreed Moore.
Metoyer wasn’t as quick to talk about revenge or the crazy games anytime Poly hits the I-15 Freeway. Like any good coach, he’s got bigger and better things on his mind. “This is a tough minded group… this is a team that could go all the way.”
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