Long Beach Poly has relied on its defense all year long, and it's a big part of why they were 20-3, and 9-0 in league coming into their second-round home game against third-place Jordan on Friday.  "Our defense is consistent," said Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer.  "We haven't been shooting all that well, but we can trust our defense."  Which is exactly what they did in a 71-52 win, with six players recording steals.

The defensive effort showed from the outset, as the Rabbits held Jordan to just eight points in the first quarter, only giving up two field goals.  When they went on a run to start the second quarter, scoring seven straight points, they opened up a 14-point lead and, thanks to the consistency of the defense, were already virtually guaranteed a win.  Jordan never cut the lead to single digits for the rest of the game.

There were a number of interesting storylines throughout, the most obvious of which was the continued integration of Shelton Boykin back into the lineup.  The senior looked very comfortable in his return, with nine points on 3-4 shooting, and three rebounds.  He also had two impressive dunks, and one heartstopping fall.  Boykin originally injured his wrist in a fall in Texas, after he was fouled while trying to dunk—on Friday, he went up for an alley-oop from Alexis Moore, and was fouled by a Panther.  He fell to the ground hard, on his back, with his injured wrist pinned against his chest.

Asked about the play, Boykin said after the game, "In basketball, you can't be scared, you have to be fearless.  If I'm scared, it changes my entire game."

Poly shot well from beyond the arc, going 4-8 while preventing Jordan from hitting a single three.  Poly did a good job cleaning up the boards, with 19 rebounds from Roshcon Prince, Ryan Anderson, and Chris Camper.  Prince, the freshman, stepped up big, with a team-leading 14 points, seven boards, four steals, and a block.  Anderson contributed nine points, four blocks, and an assist.

Leaders for Jordan were Raynard Tyler, with 16 points, and five boards, and Jesse Jones, who had 13 points on five of five shooting.

Boykin said the win was extra special because it avenged Poly's loss to Jordan last year, which cost them the league title.  "We had all last year's seniors back, and we just wanted to show them that we could do it."

Poly will play Cabrillo and Compton next week to close out league; Jordan will play Wilson and Cabrillo.