The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
What started as a competitive matchup quickly became a statement game, as Long Beach Poly defeated Lakewood 73–33 on Friday night.
Coming off their first loss to Millikan in over a decade, Poly entered the game looking for redemption—and delivered, sweeping the season series over the Lancers.
“Today I put more of my guards into the starting lineup, just to make us play faster, do a little more playmaking,” said Poly coach Shelton Diggs.
The game opened competitively, with Poly holding a narrow 12–9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“I could tell when the game started, our guards were trying to win the game in the first two possessions, and blow them out right away,” Diggs said.
The Jackrabbits quickly found their footing as they opened the 2nd quarter with a dominant 23–0 run, starting with an assist from Nana Ofoegbu to Isaac Hagens for an easy lay-up. Poly led 37-13 at the half.
Continuing their run into the 3rd quarter, the Jackrabbits extended their 2nd quarter run to 36–0, building a comfortable lead that they maintained for the remainder of the game.
“Once we calmed down and started playing possession by possession, we did a lot better as we went along,” Diggs said.
Jakobi Oware led Poly in scoring with 13 points, followed closely by his brother Jonas Oware, who had 12. Sophomore Jayden Ganther also chipped in 10 points.
“Even though we didn’t start with the intensity we needed, we were able to pick it up, get our stuff together, and just run our offense,” said Jonas Oware.
For the Lancers, senior Diquin Minor had a team-high 12 points, 9 of which he scored in the 2nd half.
Poly’s defense also played a key role in the win, converting steals and blocks into easy layups for both their guards and posts.
“If we move the ball, we’re going to make shots and give ourselves opportunities to score,” said Jonas Oware.
Ofoegbu, Kamarie Smith, Isaac Hagens, and Jett Von each added 8 points for the Jackrabbits.
The Jackrabbits have had to adapt this season due to injuries impacting key starters. Poly was without starting guard Julian Calderone, who suffered a knee injury in their last game.
“There’s been a lot of changes throughout the season. We started with Nana being hurt, and now he’s back, but now with Julian, his knee’s messed up,” Jonas Oware said. “We’ve been able to build up our chemistry, and it’s just nice that we’re all on the same page.”
Despite the dominant win, the Jackrabbits still have some tough games ahead, as they face Etiwanda this Saturday and Millikan again on Feb. 2.
“Going forward, we’ve got to take more advantage of our size and rebound better as we finish out the season, especially next time we face Millikan,” Diggs said.
Poly (14-7, 5-1) will be back in action on Saturday against Etiwanda, while Lakewood (3-20, 0-8) will match up against Millikan on Monday.
