The Moore League is quickly learning a lesson this year—you can't stop Ryan Anderson…most nights, you can't really even contain him.  Anderson was the game's leading scorer, rebounder, shot-blocker, and was tied for most steals, and you couldn't call it much more than an average game for Poly's 6-8 junior, who led his team to a 61-53 win over Millikan.

The Rabbits got off to a hot start, taking a 17-5 lead by the end of the first quarter, thanks largely to a number of Millikan fouls and a 9/9 free throw start.  Anderson became an integral part of Poly's offense because of Millikan's compacted zone—they had to dump the ball inside to kick back out to their shooters.  Much of the time Anderson touched the ball, it was for the purpose of kicking the ball out, a function he said after the game he was more than happy to perform.

"If they have any weakness at all," said Millikan coach Jeff Breuklander, "it's shooting the ball on the perimeter."  It wasn't until the third quarter that Poly started capitalizing on those opportunities, and for the first half it seemed Millikan might stay in it.  "Defensively," said Breuklander, "we had them where we wanted them—offensively, we didn't handle their pressure well."

The Rams were forced into a ton of turnovers, and shot just 5/24 in the first half, normally reliable shooters like Malcolm Whittington held to just 5/17 from the field by Poly's length.  The hot shooting helped Poly open up a 47-33 lead at the end of the third quarter, and while Whittington and Alden Darby's heroic narrowed it in the fourth, Poly maintained control of the game.  Mostly, they did so by giving it to Anderson, who finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 2 steals.

Poly got even better news with the return of Shelton Boykin, who had one point and three rebounds in limited action, his first since breaking his wrist in Texas.  "He's had cold laser therapy," said Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer before the game.  The wrist was flexible enough that Boykin signed his NLI with Long Beach State earlier in the day, and he seemed comfortable, if a little rusty, against Millikan.  "It was good to have him back out there," said Anderson.  "We missed him a lot."