Colony-Long Beach Poly SoCal girls basketball title game: March 2009 Archives

Colony ran out of gas a bit in the fourth quarter of a physical matchup with Long Beach Poly, as Poly's bench helped it slowly expand the lead in the fourth. The Titans didn't do themselves any favors from the free-throw line, only hitting 7 of 14 foul shots in the final period. Colony also went 6:21 without a field goal at one point in the quarter.

Long Beach Poly's full-court press defense, which forced 35 Colony turnovers during the first three periods, spurred a 6-0 run that has the Jackrabbits up 52-45 with just over 5 minutes left. Both teams have had issues holding the ball against the in-your-face pressure defense that the other employs.

Long Beach Poly ended the third period on a 6-0 run to take a slim 43-40 lead over Colony going into the fourth quarter. It's been a sloppy game filled with turnovers, but the Titans' physical defense has given them a good shot with a quarter to go.

Colony continue the spirited play it showed at the end of the first quarter, holding Poly to 10 points in the second period to take a 25-21 lead at the half. Colony is using a similar formula to what Cajon used against the Jackrabbits in the CIF-SS Division I-AA title game last week, keep Poly's interior players from getting going and forcing the Jackrabbits to shoot from the perimeter.

After a slow start which saw Colony fall behind 11-4, the Titans have stabilized a bit and now are just down 13-11 going into the second quarter of their girls Division I regional title game.