Troy Proves That It’s No. 1

Nightmares do come true, and the worst fears of Long Beach Poly Coach Carl Buggs were realized Saturday as his second-ranked team played the No. 1 team in the Southland, Fullerton Troy.

“The first half, they looked like they did against Christ the King [of New York],” Buggs said of the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, which defeated Troy, 44-36, six weeks ago. “They shot the lights out. And the thing I saw against Christ the King is the thing I worried about.”

Troy shot 56.8% for the game, including nine for 12 from the field in the first quarter, opened a 10-point lead that eventually reached 22, and beat Long Beach Poly, 65-51, in a nonleague game that dripped of a state playoff atmosphere.

Troy (23-1), the defending state champion in Division II, came into the game ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 8 in one national poll, while Poly (20-4) was No. 3 and 13, respectively.

At the heart of Troy’s effort was Long Beach State-bound guard Lauren Sims, who scored a team-high 21. Sims, who played only two minutes against Christ the King because of a broken ankle, made up for it against Poly.

She made six of eight from the field, including two three-pointers. She scored her first eight in the first quarter as Troy opened a 22-12 lead.

Sims was aided by Rheya Neabors, who had eight rebounds and scored 17, including consecutive three-pointers that gave Troy a 34-16 lead midway in the second quarter.

Poly scratched its way to within 34-24 at halftime, but a 12-2 run by Troy to open the third quarter put the Jackrabbits in a hole they couldn’t escape. They trailed, 51-29, going into the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Jasmine Dixon had 23 points, 14 rebounds and three steals for Poly, which pulled as close as 60-51 with 1:11 left. But Troy, which finished the game 21 for 37 from the field, was too much to overcome for the Jackrabbits, who made only 18 of 47 shots.

-- Martin Henderson

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Juanise Cornell had 19 points and seven rebounds and No. 3 La Puente Bishop Amat (26-1) defeated No. 4 Harbor City Narbonne, 53-40, in an intersectional game.

Danielle LeNoir had 12 points for Narbonne (17-6).