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 Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
The Long Beach Poly boys’ basketball team defeated Cabrillo 69–51 on Tuesday night, clinching the Moore League runner-up spot and a place in the CIF playoffs.
Poly’s win comes just after their loss to Millikan on Monday, marking the first time the Jackrabbits had been swept by the Rams in Moore League play since the 2005–06 season.
The game also marked senior night for the Jackrabbits, giving the evening extra meaning to the players, coaches, and families.
“Senior night is always an emotional night,” said Poly coach Shelton Diggs. “You try to start different guys and give different seniors a chance.”
Despite the lineup changes, Poly came out focused and controlled the game early.
“I mean, for me as a coach, I consider all of my players as my kids, I’ve been watching them for 4 years, so it’s just the culmination of their hard work here,” said Diggs.
The Jackrabbits led at the end of the first quarter, 19-7, with senior Nana Oefegbu and Junior Issac Hagens helping control the pace of the game from both sides of the floor.
The Jackrabbits built a steady lead and went into halftime ahead 31–20.
The contest’s intensity spilled over to the sidelines, with referees handing out warnings to both benches. A technical foul was also called against Cabrillo following a shooting foul, which awarded Poly 4 free throws
Despite the added emotion and noise, Poly remained composed and continued to execute on both ends of the floor.
Ball movement and defensive pressure were huge for the Jackrabbits, highlighted with an alley-oop from Nana Ofoegbu to Jonas Oware to end the third quarter with the Jackrabbits leading 57-35.
A key player in the Jackrabbits’ win was junior Isaac Hagens, who scored a team-high 16 points.
Along with Hagens, Jonas Oware and Kamarie Smith each scored 12 points, while Ofoegbu added 11 as Poly pulled away for the victory.
“I feel really good, I feel like our chemistry is at its peak right now, and we’re just getting ready for CIF,” said Hagens.
For the Jaguars, sophomore Ului-He-Lotu Eteaki had a game-high 24 points, 10 of which he scored in the 4th quarter.
With league play now wrapped up for Poly, the Jackrabbits have one focus: winning a CIF championship for the first time since 2014.
“For us, it’s about everyone playing their role importantly, just doing it to the best of their ability, that’s just the best we can do, especially when we’re trying to win a CIF chip,” said Hagens.
Poly will wait until Saturday, February 14th, when the CIF playoff brackets are released, to see who they will face in the first round.
Cabrillo will face off against Wilson tomorrow for a play-in 4th-place game, which will determine which team will clinch the fourth and final playoff spot for the 2025-2026 season.
“Playoffs are a whole new season, our focus is to just regroup and get ready for that new season there,” said Diggs.
