biw artesa v. poly

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Best in the West: Jason Day--
Artesia v. Poly--(December 30, 1997)

Here's our latest installment from Jason Day, who's been at the Best in the West Tournament for the last few days. Not to get ahead of ourselves, Artesia won this one, 66-61. There, now you can read all about it. And be sure not to miss tonight's matchup Westchester v. Artesia tonight at Long Beach City College at 9:00 pm. But then, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves again.

ARTESIA EDGES POLY TO ADVANCE
TO FINALS AGAINST WESTCHESTER

by Jason Day

The second semi-final game at the Best in the West Invitational Tournament, held at Long Beach City College, featured two of the top seeds. No. 3 Artesia took on No. 2 Long Beach Poly, a match between traditional rivals, both with strong teams this year.

Artesia got here by beating Bonita Vista, Verbum Dei, and Etiwanda; Poly by way of San Pedro, Bellarmine Prep, and Fairfax.

Coach Palmer’s Jackrabbits have rebounded in this tourney after what could be described as a disappointing performance at the Reebok classic last week. Artesia, a tough team made tougher with the addition of two high caliber freshmen, has been rolling along and is undefeated to this point.

So the stage was set for a real battle between two teams that will meet again and again during the season. And a battle is just what this one was.

Poly made their intentions known from the tip-off; hustle, run, get after the loose balls, play tough D, and be patient on offense. This very well coached, and responsive, team simply worked harder than their opponent in the first quarter and were rewarded with a 9 point lead (23-14) by the end of the 1^st.

Both teams played man-to-man defense for most of the 1^st and Artesia’s star, Jason Kapono, a junior, picked up two personal fouls early. In the second quarter there were some significant adjustments by Artesia coach, Wayne Merino. He switched to a half court zone, alternating between the 1-3-1 and a 2-3. He also went with his experienced players, sending Jr. Jonathan Stokes, Sr. James Murdock, Kapono, Sr. Jamal O’Quinn, and Jr. Aaron Hamilton, to the floor and only using Sr. Willie Alford or Fr. Jack Martinez as subs. The frosh designation in front of Martinez’ name might seem contrary to the "experienced" concept, but after you see this kid play you’ll know that he is already an "experienced" player.

The zone slowly began to work. Poly had been getting some shots around the basket but that started drying up in the 2^nd. With 3:25 left in the 2^nd quarter, Artesia had clawed back to a two-point deficit 27-25. About a minute later Poly star Ricky Anderson picked up his 2^nd foul, a significant event in this one.

Halftime score Poly 37, Artesia 34.

The third quarter was all out warfare. Three, four, and five bodies diving for every loose ball. Every shot contested. Poly’s other star, Sr. SG, Mike McIntyre was having a very big game. His three point shooting (6-12 in the game) kept his team ahead for this period when they couldn’t penetrate the zone. But at 5:08 of the third, he went to the bench with 3 personals. Another significant event for Poly. Score: 39-39.

Artesia mixed in a man to man defense and Poly stayed in man. To this point, Kapono and Martinez were the big offensive factors for Artesia. Kapono was a "ho-hum" 5 for 13 from the field, but a "wow" 13 of 14 from the line, where he seemed to live for last part of this game. He added 7 boards to go with his 24 pts. and was a big defensive presence in the paint. Jack, the freshman, had an "off" game offensively. He’s averaging about 15 for this tourney, but could only manage 10 in this one. That’s on 5-9 shooting to go with 5 boards and a steal. Some freshman.

Another bright spot for Artesia was the play of SR PG, James Murdock. His steady performance throughout the game was an important part of this win. While he was 0-6 from 3-point land, (and mercifully stopped shooting from there) he dropped 5-8 from 2pt land, had 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He and Stokes did a great job of protecting the rock. Stokes didn’t have any points but had a steady performance helping run the offense. He had 4 assists and a key block late in the game.

When Coach Palmer put McIntyre back in for Poly, he started lighting up the 3pt line again. Shelton Diggs also came alive and hit some key shots. While Arizona bound Ricky Anderson couldn’t get many of his shots to fall (he was 2-12 from the field, with a 3), he was taking those shots in very good places and drew a lot of calls. He went 10-10 from the line. The battles under the boards between he and Kapono, and he and Martinez were something to see.

Poly 49, Artesia 47. End of three.

7:37 of the fourth. Anderson picks up number 3. One minute later, Anderson picks up number 4. He sits down. Significant event for Poly in ANY game. 52-49 Poly.

Artesia switches to a press and gets a turnover right away. Kapono to the line. AGAIN. Anderson comes back at 4:08. Score 55-54 Artesia. Murdock picks Wesley Stokes, the SO Poly guard who had 5 assists but 4 turnovers in this one. The Artesia guards did a great job of keeping this future star off balance and out of the real flow of this game. Wesley also had 2 steals to go with 5pts.

They go back and forth, Diggs hits a huge three, and it’s a one point game, 58-57. Martinez answers on the other end with a pretty move for two, 60-57 with 2:00 left. Hamilton travels, turnover. Anderson misses on the other end. 1:28 left.

Artesia spreads the floor to use up the clock. Kapono fouled going to the rack, misses the front end of the "1 and 1", O’Quinn gets a great rebound putback and is fouled. He misses the FT but his heroics are not over.

Both teams trade fouls and FT’s. It’s 62-59, Artesia, with :26 left in the game. Murdock hits two freebies, 64-59. Poly down the court quickly but misses two 3pt attempts. Anderson fouled, at the line for 2, :06 on the clock, down by 5. He sinks em both. Down by 3.

Artesia inbounds. It’s a bad pass that O’Quinn saves at mid-court. He turns to the hoop and makes the lay-up at the buzzer. Artesia 66, Poly 61.

O'Quinn, bound for Cal State Northridge to join his brother Mike [Jerry's Note: You know, the suspension king, and we don't mean shock absorbers], had a real nice game for Artesia. He had 11pts. 4 rebounds, an assist, 2 blocks, and a steal. Experience.

That may have been the difference overall in this one. The Artesia zone pushed Poly’s offense to the perimeter where they shot only 25% in the 2^nd half after shooting better than 57% in the first. When Artesia needed to be patient they were. When Poly needed to be patient they sometimes weren’t.

There will be some Poly fans who will point to the officiating in this one as a factor in the loss. From my vantage point they are correct. The officiating was quite bad. But it was quite bad on both ends of the floor. Bad. But consistently bad.

So it’s on to the final, against Westchester, for Artesia. Westchester trounced Long Beach Jordan in the first semi-final game (we'll have a report up soon on this). Personally, I think this is the local game of the year so far. A must see.

It’s tonight (Tuesday) at 9:00 pm at the Long Beach City College Main Gym.

See ya there.

Jason Day