Senior basketball player Miles Hines has been playing basketball practically his whole life, encouraged by his family, but eventually growing his own love for the sport that continues to this day. “I’ve been playing for about 12 years.” said Hines
Miles is family encourages his athletic ability and he will likely continue to play after graduation, although he is unsure of where he will be this fall. “I don’t know where I’ll go, but I’ll probably still play.”
Hines has put a lot of hard work into basketball and loves many aspects of the sport “ I really enjoy playing and working with my teammates. Practice can be tiring. That would be my least favorite.”
No matter where he ends up in life, Miles can always count on his love of basketball to be there with him, “ I’ve been doing this for most of my life.”
He thanks his family, who have been his strength throughout his life both on and off the court. “My family really supports me. They put me on this.”
The girls varsity basketball team had a rough start as they ended their Tournament at Troy High School winning 0 games, but they came back into Moore League blowing out the Cabrillo Jaguars with a win of . Their five came into the game with low energy first quarter but, by second quarter the score was 0 to 39.
The girls dominated their offensive plays hitting continuous threes and jumpers. Coach Buggs says, “The most improved on the team as far as the veterans who have been on the team is Menah Salaveo.” Their “five,” Menah Salaveo, successfully conquered the paint making 10 points on offense along. In the game they were consistent in always having great assists and great communication on offense.
As far as defense, our girls were able to play man-to-man defense without having the visitors penetrate. Iyanna Lamb, especially, drove into the passing lanes and turned the ball over to the Jackrabbits. Deja Williams explained that this game “proved that no matter how rough the season may begins, we always find a way to get a comeback.”
There has been a lot of hate for Girls Varsity because they have not had the most successful start, but there is still more to come for this season. Deja WIlliams (senior) has committed to Cal State Northridge on a D1 Scholarship.
The next game for the girls is versus Compton at Compton High School on December 14th. Then, they will be entering a tournament in Arizona from the 18th through the 22nd in the Nike Tournament of Championships. There they will be facing teams from all around the country, playing 4 four games. During the winter break they will also be playing in the SoCal Holiday Classic right after Christmas.
On Wednesday, March 18, Poly’s girls basketball team lost the CIF State SoCal Regional Open Division Championship game against Clovis West. Although the scoreboard at the end of the game said 53-44, there were many things to be said about the game itself.
In an interview with Gazette Sports, Coach Carl Buggs commented he “would never blame refs for a loss, but they shot 35 free throws, we shot 11.” Clovis West received 23 fouls in comparison to Poly’s 15, and though the difference may seem insignificant, the free throws added up to make a big difference. Of Poly’s 11 free throws they were only able to score three, while Clovis made 28 free throws to account for over half of their final score.
Stephen Dachman After taking a dissapointing loss, the lady jackrabbits line up to shake hands with Clovis West.
It may be downgrading to blame the refs for a game, but this just might be the case for this one. Oddly enough, the refs seemed to make the worst calls at the most clutch and momentous occasions. The crowd reacted with boos, and Poly was never able to catch fire.
In the beginning of the game, the Lady Jackrabbits started off with a turnover and were not able to pick up their energy for the rest of the game. However, the team had a difficult time regaining momentum. Senior forward Kathryn Headspeth commented, “Nobody had energy from the start. The bench didn’t have energy. The people on the court didn’t. Sometimes there was, but it died off.”
Similar moments have happened in sports, such as the Conference Finals in 2002 with the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers. With an astounding lineup in both teams, the series seemed to be a playoff series for the ages. In the 4th quarter of game six, the Lakers shot 27 free throws while the Kings shot nine. The Lakers took the victory and ended up with the NBA championship, but many people today still believe that the series was rigged.
Much like the Sacramento Kings, the Lady Jackrabbits may have took a loss that they did not deserve. Due to these calls, the fans for Poly’s team can no longer witness history. Although the Lady Jackrabbits were not able to leave it all on the floor, it can be easily said that everyone knows their potential and that they deserved a fair game.
On Saturday March 4, Poly’s girl basketball team once again won the CIF Southern Section Open Division girls basketball championship.
This marked the 120th CIF title for the School. The girls hadn’t won the CIF crown since
2010. This was also the first Open Division title that the program has won.
This was not a typical game for the Jackrabbits as they headed into halftime down 36-32. Most of the season the Jackrabbits steamrolled their opponents, but were ready to make adjustments when
necessary. “When it’s money time, it’s money time, and that’s when you need your big three.”
said coach Buggs.
Ayanna Clark, Jasmine Jones, and Danae Miller lead the Jackrabbits in scoring on the
night. Clark had 20 points, Jones had 14 and Miller had 12.
For years, the girls basketball team has maintained a strong reputation. With countless CIF Championships, it seems that the program will only go on up from this point.
After defeating Bishop Alemany on Friday, February 17, the Long Beach Poly Boy’s Basketball team was scheduled to play the popular Chino Hills.
The Chino Hills Huskies are the number one ranked high school basketball team in MaxPreps, and are also even more famous for members of the team called the Ball Brothers. These are three actual brothers: Lonzo, Liangelo, and LaMelo Ball. Senior Liangelo Ball and sophomore Lamelo Ball are famous on Youtube channels such as Ballislife or BallerVisions which features basketball mixtapes for the best high school phenomenons in the nation.
The team also features three other less known yet still great players, such as sophomore
Onyeka Okongwu and senior Elizjah Scott who are cousins with the ball brothers. The key players on the Chino Hills team all stand over 6 foot, with Okongwu being the tallest at 6’9”. This puts Poly at a height disadvantage, and the rest of the factors also make them the underdog in the matchup.
Poly certainly knew they came in as the underdog, and certainly had an immeasurable pressure coming in. With over 2,500 tickets sold, fans sitting in the stairways of the stands and even standing on the rails, it could be seen that people expected a lot from both of the teams.
Starting from the tip-off, Poly fought their way through the whole game. For most of the first quarter, they stayed in the lead, capped off by a near half-court shot by junior Darryl Polk at the end of the first.
Senior Zafir Williams’s layup is denied by Chino Hills sophomore Onyeka Okongwu.
However, Chino Hills slowly started to pull away with the victory after the first quarter ended. Although sophomore Lamelo Ball was held scoreless, big men Scott and Okongwu always found a way to get the
rebounds to either push the ball up court or put the ball back in the hoop. The two bigs combined for 17 offensive rebounds and combined for 51 points.
Senior Zafir Williams continued to fight, and ended with 31 points and 16 rebounds. This didn’t prove to be enough, and with Poly missing easy layups and rebounds, they ended the night with a loss of 98-74. Poly will continue on to play Corona Centennial in the consolation bracket, and Chino Hills will go on to play Mater Dei in the CIF semifinals.
Boys vs. Alemany
Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits played a non-league playoff game hosted by the Alemany Warriors on Friday, February 17, at 7 P.M. This game was part of the CIF Southern Section 2017 Boys Basketball Championship – Open Division. The Jackrabbits defeated the Warriors with a score of 66-48. Poly dominated most of the game.
In the first quarter they scored 17-6, in the second quarter they scored 18-7, in the third quarter they scored 18-21, and in the fourth quarter they scored 13-14. This upgraded the Jackrabbits overall record to 22-6 and the Warriors 24-4, and both teams still have 12-0 league records. Long Beach Poly ranks 83 Nationally, 19 in California, 11 in the Southern Section, 17 in Division 1, and 11 in Division 1AA.
Girls vs. Alemany
On Saturday, February 18, the girls basketball team defeated the visiting Brea Olinda, 61-33. It was a closely contested contest, until the second quarter where the Jackrabbits went on a 15-4 run.
The scoring for the Jackrabbits was lead by senior Ayanna Clark who scored 15 points and also snagged 13 rebounds on the night. This win marks number 500 for Coach Carl Buggs. Coach Buggs was as cool as a cucumber the whole game, even when Poly entered the 2nd quarter tied. “There was no adjust- ments to make, you work all year so that in that moment you know who you are, just play Poly basketball,” said Coach Buggs.
On Saturday, February 4, the Long Beach Poly boys basketball team played Orange Lutheran at the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei High. Poly won the game with a score of 72 – 49.
Poly’s senior guard, Jeremiah Sadler, made a total of 26 points throughout the game. Sadler was 9 of 16 from the field, including an impressive 5 out of 9 from 3 point range. Sadler scored 16 of those just in the first half, and made 4 out of those 5 three pointers in just the first 16 minutes of the game.
The first quarter ended with Poly leading 27 – 11. Out of those 27 points, 13 were made by Jeremiah Sadler. Senior Myles Johnson added 13 points with 15 rebounds and senior Zafir Williams added another 11 more points and 12 rebounds.
This game Jeremiah Sadler showed off his skills because this game was really important to him. He recently had surgery and couldn’t do anything related to basketball for 7 months. Jeremiah is just now getting back to playing basketball and adjusting to practicing and being on the court again.
Poly’s next game is Thursday, February 9 at Long Beach Polytechnic High School vs. Compton.
The Poly Jackrabbits girls basketball team won a home conference game by a score of 76- 33 against Millikan on February 1.
The girls started off the game well, with the first quarter score being 26-8. The more games the girls have played, the more used to things they are. Their competitive side always gives them the advantage. Varsity team player, Makauaenalahni Diamond Salevao, said it best when she stated, “It was a good game. It was a little more competitive, I feel like I could have played better.”
It seems no matter how great the Lady Jackrabbits play, they always
feel the need for improvement. They stay hard on themselves and practice just as hard. With an overall record of 20-3, that hard work is definitely paying off.
On the February 7, they played the Cabrillo Jaguars and the Jackrabbits ended up winning once again. There was nothing for them to worry about, as they ended the game with a score of 86-16.
On Thursday, February 9, they will play yet another game against Compton. They have so much going on that when Makauaenalahni Diamond Salevao was interviewed, she was unclear on which game was which. As far as she’s concerned, “All the games are competitive, hard, and still very fun.”
