Simi Valley Finds Poly as Good as Advertised

Unfortunately for Simi Valley High, the Pioneers’ scouting report on Long Beach Poly was as accurate as a two-handed dunk.

Poly, Cal-Hi Sports’ top-ranked team in the state, was everything Simi Valley anticipated during the Jackrabbits’ 74-59 win in a Southern Section Division 5-AA quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Lakewood High.

Yes, Simi Valley Coach Dean Bradshaw discovered, Poly is as big, quick and talented as the team looked on videotape.

“That is a very powerful high school basketball team,” Bradshaw said. “I take my hat off to Long Beach Poly.”

Bradshaw was reaching for his cap even before five minutes elapsed. Poly (24-2) jumped to a 15-6 lead with 3 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first quarter and led, 21-10, entering the second.

“It’s real tough falling behind by that much early,” Bradshaw said. “It took us out of the type of game we like to play.”

The type of game Simi Valley (19-9) prefers begins underneath the basket with 6-foot-6 Mike Wawryk--arguably the Marmonte League’s best post player. But Poly used a powerful inside game of its own and dominated the paint with Willie McGinest, a 6-7, 220-pound center. “We knew coming in that they were very strong inside,” Bradshaw said.

McGinest, who has signed a letter of intent to play football for USC, was testament to that strength. He treated rebounds as if they were quarterbacks and met his season average with 13.

“He is as good as any post player we’ve played,” Bradshaw said.

Long Beach Poly outrebounded Simi Valley, 49-25. Simi Valley allowed a staggering 19 offensive rebounds.

“It’s so much of an emotional letdown when you play good defense and they take a shot, only to miss and get it again,” Bradshaw said. “We didn’t rebound as well as we would have liked, and I’m sure we could have screened out better at times. But we were also physically overmatched a lot too.”

But not so much that Simi Valley headed for the bus after trailing, 38-22, at halftime. The Pioneers battled behind Kenny Hood’s 18 second-half points and pulled within 54-43 on Hood’s jump shot with 6:10 left.

Poly responded with a 20-12 run capped by consecutive dunks from McGinest and Roderick Hannibal. McGinest finished with 20 points and Hannibal and Melvin Jones each had 19.

Hood finished with 24 points and senior guard Steve Carnes had 13.