Poly fall to Bishop Montgomery 55-54 in Paul Pierce Classic

INGLEWOOD – The Bishop Montgomery Knights escaped with a 55-54 victory over the Long Beach Poly jackrabbits Saturday night at the Paul Pierce showcase.  Poly had a chance to win the game but was unable to get off a shot after stealing the inbound pass.

The loss was Poly’s third in a row after losing two in the Maxprep winter showcase last weekend, while the Knights was coming off its only defeat so far at the hands of Redondo Union both teams were overdue for a victory.

Neither team could get a distinct run going as Poly would take a 28-24 lead into halftime.

Jordan Dallas led the way for Poly with 21 points, while Kameron Murrell added 13 points and a couple of assists.

The Knights, however would outscore Poly 18-11 in the third quarter including seven points by Ethan Thompson’s seven points to take the lead 42-39 heading into the final quarter.

“In the second half we started moving the ball around more and took better shots,” Thompson said. “Guys were not passing up open shots. We made their defense work and tired them out.”

The fatigue would show, as Bishop Montgomery would open the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run.

Poly, however would not go away, as they would get within three points on a Murrell 3-pointer with seconds remaining.   After Chris Sullivan made two free throws to close the gap to 54-55, Murrell would steal the ensuing inbounds pass, but Poly would not be able to get a shot off as time ran out.

“Our youth really showed in the last two minutes ,”Knights head Coach Doug Mitchell said. “But I’m pleased with the win. We need to be in games like this against bigger teams. The more we get into these situations the better off we are.”

Poly (8-6) opens Moore League play Wednesday as they host the Millikan Rams.  Tipoff is at 6:30pm.