Poly Able to Go Over the Top

Long Beach Poly High Coach Ron Palmer didn’t need John Wooden’s basketball acumen to figure out how his Jackrabbits should go about beating a Los Angeles Loyola team whose post players were three inches shorter on average. Look for the open man down low. Pound the ball inside. Score easy baskets.

Poly executed its plan to perfection Wednesday night as the third-seeded Jackrabbits hammered Loyola, 80-58, in a Southern California Regional Division I first-round boys’ basketball game at Long Beach City College.

Poly (29-3) advanced to play second-seeded Fairfax, a 65-49 winner over Carlsbad, in a Saturday semifinal. Fairfax (30-4) will host the game at a site to be determined today.

Against Loyola, Jackrabbit forward Marcedes Lewis scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the first half as guards Carlos Rivers and Barry Barnes continually fed the 6-foot-7 senior for effortless baskets.

“I told the guys to look for me on the inside,” said Lewis, who muscled past Loyola’s Chris Rucker for rebounds and layups. “[Rucker] was overplaying me.”

Jackrabbit forward Bobby Jones added 24 points and Reggie Butler had 10.

Poly scored the game’s first 13 points before the Cubs (27-4) finally scored with 3 minutes 13 seconds to go in the first quarter on a basket by Rucker inside.

The Jackrabbits maintained a comfortable lead until the third quarter, when Loyola made its only real push of the game to pull within seven points. Josh Flynn-Brown got the Cubs going with a basket, a three-pointer and a pair of free throws. Rucker scored inside off an inbounds pass and then Terence Balagia scored off a steal forced by Loyola’s full-court press to end an 11-0 run, making the score 41-34.

But Poly responded with 17-6 run to close the quarter and retake the momentum.

Rucker finished with 13 points, Flynn-Brown added 12 and Omar Wilkes had 11.