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In front of a sold-out gym and dozens of former players, the Long Beach Poly boys’ basketball team made its case to be a part of a Jackrabbit legacy that includes boatloads of CIF Southern Section titles, big wins, big-time college recruits, and more than 100 years of history. The Jackrabbits trailed by one point with less than a minute to go when star junior Jovani Ruff left a defender on the floor then hit a huge go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds left. The lead stood up as the Jackrabbits played great defense down the stretch to secure a 57-54 victory and punch their ticket to next week’s CIF-SS Division 2A championship game.
“That was a big shot–big time players make big time shots in big time games,” said Poly coach Shelton Diggs. “They were doing a great job on him. But he made a nice move to get away from him and that’s Jovani Ruff, man. That’s what he does.”
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Poly (24-8) will play the winner of Marina and San Gabriel Academy next week–those two teams play on Saturday evening and the championship date, time, and location will be announced by Monday. It will be the Jackrabbits’ first CIF-SS title appearance since 2022 and they’ll try to win their first CIF-SS title since 2014, Diggs’ first year coaching the program. If the Jackrabbits win next week it would be their 21st title as a program, and with a title in the 2020s would mean they’ve won at least one CIF-SS title every decade since the 1920s.
Much of that history was in the sold-out stands of the Ron Palmer Pavilion on Friday, with former Jackrabbit legends like Sharrief Metoyer, KJ Feagin, Darryl Polk Jr., Christian Watson, Alexis Moore, Wesley Stokes, Earnest Pettway and others in attendance.
“It’s good to have all those champions come back in the gym,” said Diggs. “Those are guys that put their blood, sweat and tears into Poly. They understand what this group is going through, they understand the work to get to that point. It’s good for them to see and it’s good for our team to see, guys they know or grew up watching. It’s great. This is what being at Poly is all about.”
The game was a thriller from start to finish as neither team led by more than two possessions. Poly led 12-11 after the first quarter as Ruff jumped out to a quick start and was nearly matched by freshman Maxwell Scott, who poured in nine of his game-high 31 points in the opening frame. The second quarter was back and forth with the Sea Kings taking a 28-27 lead just before the break, only to see sophomore Nana Ofoegbu drill a clutch 3-pointer from Poly to beat the buzzer and put the Jackrabbits up 30-28 at halftime.
“I didn’t want to play scared,” said Ofoegbu. “We’re made for this for sure. If my teammates need me to get a bucket I’m going to get one. If they need me to find them I’m going to find them.”
In the third quarter, the Sea Kings opened up a 35-30 lead with a 7-0 run (the longest run by either team in the game). Ruff and Giovanni Ofoegbu would answer, and then Nana and Giovanni hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Poly up 42-38. Scott and the Sea Kings answered back and would end up taking a 45-44 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Both teams had massive moments in the game’s final minutes. The Sea Kings took a 50-44 lead on a 3-pointer by Luke Mirhashemi, but the Jackrabbits answered with 3-pointers by Austin Unegbu and Giovanni Ofoegbu. Neither of them had their best game for Poly, but both showed up huge down the stretch. Unegbu put Poly up 52-51 with a tough layup through contact.
With a minute left, though, Scott got a deep open look from three and buried it to put the Sea Kings up 54-52. That’s when Ruff took the ball on the right wing in front of his own bench, dropped a defender with a low cross, then stepped back away from another to absolutely drill a go-ahead basket, turning all the way up in front of his teammates and a huge crowd after.
“All I’m thinking at that point is I’m gonna take this team to the championship,” said Ruff. “We’re playing in front of our family and friends, my teammates are getting off, I just need one basket to get to go play for a ring.”
Ruff had 24 points on an efficient shooting night. Nana Ofoegbu backed him up with 11 while Giovanni Ofoegbu had nine and Unegbu had eight. Jonas Oware had an early layup and Julian Calderone nailed a big three off the bench as well. Scott led the Sea Kings with 31 points while Jackson Harlan had 10 points.
