No. 2 Long Beach Poly edges No. 5 Carondelet

ANTIOCH, Calif. - Tis the season for games like this.

All involved felt like winners following Long Beach Poly's superbly-played 58-56 win over Carondelet (Concord) in the finals of the Platinum Division at the massive 152-team West Coast Jamboree on Thursday night.

In front of an enthusiastic crowd at Deer Valley High School, two free throws by USC-bound Ariya Crook-williams with 2.5 seconds to play proved to be the game-winner for the second-ranked Jackrabbits (8-2), who got 19 points and 12 rebounds by UCLA-bound 6-foot-2 post Sheila Boykin.

Carondelet (8-2), No. 5 in MaxPreps computer-based Freeman rankings - and no one else's Top 25, fought back from an 11-2 deficit early to tie the game twice in the third period, then fell behind by 54-44 with less than four minutes to play but tied it up at 56 on a 3-pointer from Melissa Russi with 42.9 seconds left.

Following a Poly miss, the Cougars, who never led, had a chance to go ahead by Stanford-bound post Erica Payne had the ball knocked away by Boykin. A wild outlet pass got away from Crook-Williams who beat Hannah Huffman to the ball.

The two collided hard and Huffman was whistled for the foul.

Crook-Williams, who hadn't scored since the first quarter, bounced in both free throws and after a timeout, Huffman's 50-foot heave at the buzzer wasn't close.

Huffman, a stellar 5-9 junior, led Carondelet with 16 points. Teammates Russi and Payne added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Crook-Williams and Olivia Montgomery added nine points apiece for Poly and Tajanae Winston added eight.

Boykin was picked as the Division's MVP, while Crook-Williams, Winston, Huffman and Payne were all-tournament picks.

"We need to play tough games like this because it's a tough road ahead," Boykin said. "We learned a lot about ourselves and see the areas we need to get better."

With only the 6-2 Payne serving as a post presence, the guard-oriented Cougars didn't figure to match-up well against Poly. Instead, they played Poly tooth and nail throughout and came away with a load of confidence.

"This just proves we can play with anyone in the country," Huffman said.

Said Payne, who added 12 rebounds and three blocks: "Carondelet doesn't play around. We mean business."

Boykin never doubted that.

"We saw them all tournament and noted that they get down, they just keep going," Boykin said. "They just keep going. I knew once we got ahead, I kept telling our girls don't quit because they're going to come back."

And the Cougars did, chipping away at the early deficit behind the play of their two stars, Huffman and Payne, who scored 15 of their team's first 19 points to close to 22-19.

A 3-pointer by Russi eventually closed the game to 27-26, but Boykin drilled a short-range jumper to give Poly a 29-26 halftime lead.

"We knew they were  a formidable team and very well coached," Poly coach Carl Buggs said. "They hung around and clawed back in."

A couple nifty Huffman driving buckets and another 3-pointer by Russi tied the game at 33 early in the third, but Poly began to pull away thanks to its extremely long bench. A 3-point play by Montgomery made it 44-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

When Montgomery hit back-to-back 3s to start the fourth quarter, this one looked done.

"One thing I love about my team is our enormous bench and how everyone contributes," Boykin said.

But Carondelet kept fighting back and ran off a 12-2 run in a 3-minute span keyed by two 3-pointers by Russi and a nifty dribble-drive and bucket along with a key assist by freshman Natalie Romeo.

"We told ourselves this was like a state game," Payne said. "This was Southern California versus North California."

The intensity reached its peak on the loose ball Crook-Williams picked up. She sent a shoulder into Huffman during the scramble and the sturdy Huffman stayed face down on the ground after the referee blew his whistle. She had injured her shoulder and stomach.

"I heard the crowd cheering so I was hoping it was against them," Huffman said. "When they started booing I knew it wasn't good, that it was against me. My stomach felt worse."

This was great competition for both teams, who will have no cakewalk to the state Division I finals.

Carondelet will likely be battling Berkeley, which it beat Wednesday in the semifinals 64-62.

With Brea Olinda and Mater Dei jumping up to Division I, Poly has two national powers to contend with in the Southern Section playoffs. Brea Olinda has already defeated Poly twice this season, 60-53 and 56-48, and Poly has defeated Mater Dei 61-56.

Brea Olinda, Poly and Mater Dei are the top three teams in the country according to both MaxPreps' rankings.

"Believe me, if we see Carondelet again, I'll be very, very happy," Buggs said. "I can appreciate Carondelet's road to the state finals, but nothing could be more difficult than ours."

Said Boykin: "But we're Long Beach Poly. We always have a target on our backs. We're always expected to win."

Platinum Division Thursday scores
Third place: Berkeley 67, Georgetown (Texas) 61
Fifth place: St. Mary's (Albany, Calif.) 60, Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 49
Seventh place: Del Oro (Loomis) 53, Hanford 52
Ninth place: Sacramento 68, San Diego 65
11th place: Presentation (San Jose) 44, Bishop's (La Jolla) 43
13th place: Deer Valley (Antioch) 65, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 43
15th place: Eastside College Prep (East Palo Alto) 42, Modesto Christian 37

Platinum All-Tournament
MVP: Sheila Boykin (Long Beach Poly). Team: Ariya Crook-Williams (Poly), Tajanae Winston (Poly), Erica Payne (Carondelet), Hannah Huffman (Carondelet), Brittany Boyd (Berkeley), Alisha Davis (Berkeley), Lariel Powell (O'Dowd), Raven Fox (Deer Valley), Madeline Campbell (Del Oro), Ahjalee Harvey (Eastside Prep), Krystal Forthan (Georgetown), Madison Parish (Hanford), Charise Holloway (Modesto Christian), Dejza James (Pleasant Grove), Joesetta Fatuesi (Presentation), Jasmine Ware (Sacramento), Tia Dixon (San Diego), Emily Vann (St. Mary's), Cody Sims (St. Mary's), Bryn Stark (Bishop's).

Division championship scores
Gold: Narbonne (Harbor City) 75, Vanden 53
Sapphire: Acalanes (Lafayette) 91, Clovis East 50
Diamond: Liberty (Brentwood) 56, Jurupa Valley 47
Ruby: Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) 63, College Park 53
Emerald: Reed 42, Maria Carrillo 20
Amber: Campolindo (Moraga) 79, Albany 45
Pearl: Orland, Bretheren Christian 42 (OT)
Tanzanite: Foothill (Pleasanton) 55, Grant 46
Quartz: Dublin 52, California 45
Topaz: Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 64, Valley Christian-SJ 35
Onyx: Florin (Sacramento) 54, Chico 46