LAKEWOOD, CA–The Mayfair High School boys’s basketball team proved to be too big, too fast and too much for the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits in a CIF State Division I second round game played Saturday on the Monsoons’ homecourt. Mayfair High’s Kendall Small showed the Jackrabbits he was the biggest and baddest player on the court, tossing in a game-high 34 points to lead the Monsoons to the win.
The rest of Mayfair’s team wasn’t too shabby, either. The Monsoons gave Poly a dash of what was to come for the rest of the game when they went full-throttle, fast-pace mode in the first quarter, even sprinting out to a double-digit lead at one in the first half. But the Jackrabbits showed their fortitude by marching back to take the lead going into halftime.
Small and the rest of the Mayfair team were head over shoulders in talent level this night. Having said that, Poly was in this game whole way, and may have even pulled off the road win had it been able to convert free throws. The Jackrabbits missed numerous free throws during the game, which proved to be the difference-maker in the end.
The back-and-forth, tug-o-war between the two highly competitive teams basically teetered at the charity stripe. The Monsoons simply made their free throws count. The Jackrabbits failed to capitalize on their trips to the free throw line. Poly, which beat Mission Viejo for the CIF Southern Section championship, was coming off a one-point win against Narbonne in the state tournament’s first round game. Small and Mayfair (25-6) moves on to the next round Tuesday against Chino Hills.
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”