Tradition Continues for Long Beach Poly

Legends can be difficult to replace, but Long Beach Poly Coach Sharrief Metoyer is off to a good start.

In his first season as boys’ basketball coach, Metoyer guided his second-seeded Jackrabbits to their fifth Southern Section title in the last 11 years with a 50-34 victory over top-seeded Etiwanda in a Division I-AA final at the Arrowhead Pond.

He replaced Ron Palmer, who guided Poly to eight section championships and one state title between 1976 and 2002.

Poly (28-3) went on a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 26-8 lead and Etiwanda (29-2) never got closer than 13 points.

Marcus Lewis, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior center, scored 16 points to lead the Jackrabbits to their 21st consecutive victory.

Etiwanda, which was on a 24-game winning streak, played another strong defensive game, holding the Jackrabbits to nearly 13 points under their season average. But the Eagles made only four of 18 field-goal attempts in the first half, while Poly was building a 31-14 lead.

Mission Viejo 64, Huntington Beach Marina 57 -- The fourth-seeded Diablos scored the final five points in the Division I-A championship game for the program’s first section title.

Marina (24-8) had trimmed a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to two on Jeff Rivera’s put-back with 2:15 remaining. But Mission Viejo’s Jed Collins sank three of four free throws down the stretch and the Viking missed their final four shots.

Collins scored nine of his 19 points in the final quarter. Marcus Blackshire contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Diablos (26-5).

Matt Brennan scored 24 points but was held scoreless in the final quarter for Marina.

Fullerton Sunny Hills 41, Villa Park 38 -- The Lancers rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit in the Division II-AA final, holding Villa Park to one point over a 10-minute stretch of the second half to secure the program’s first section title.

James Kim again played well down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. His three-point basket with 5:10 remaining gave unseeded Sunny Hills a 31-30 lead, its first since making the game’s opening basket.

Steve Schneider contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds and Mickey had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Lancers (19-13), who out-rebounded Villa Park, 38-26. Kyle Johnson scored 11 points to lead Villa Park (23-9).

-- Dan Arritt

Compton Dominguez 71, Inglewood 58 -- LaMar Roberson, a transfer from Louisiana, had 32 points and 13 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Dons to the Division II-A title.

Unseeded and much smaller Inglewood tried clogging the middle passing lanes in hopes of forcing the Dons outside, but when they came inside, the Sentinels got into foul trouble.

Dominguez led, 51-46, with 6:45 left in the game when Inglewood forward Adenla Dagunduro fouled out. The Dons (27-5) put the game away by going inside to Roberson or kicking the ball out to Bryan Harvey. The two combined for 15 points over the next three minutes as Dominguez extended its lead to 64-51.

Harvey finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Jonathan Joshua had 15 points to lead Inglewood (21-11), which lost its second consecutive section title game.

Santa Margarita 57, Calabasas 55 -- The Eagles utilized their size advantage and turned away a fourth-quarter rally to win the Division III-AA title.

Calabasas trailed by two and had the ball with 13.2 seconds remaining. But Santa Margarita’s James Keefe blocked a shot on a drive to the basket by point guard Drew Housman with one second left to secure the victory.

Santa Margarita (27-3) took a 39-31 lead into the fourth quarter, but a three-point basket by the Robert Babadjouni tied the score at 55-55 with 46 seconds left. After an Eagle timeout, Keefe scored on a put-back with 19 seconds left.

Housman led all scorers with 26 points, including five three-point baskets, for Calabasas (25-5).

-- Mike Besack