Zafir Williams scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half as Long Beach Poly overcame a slow start to defeat Bountiful (Utah), 64-55, Friday afternoon in the Tarkanian Classic Platinum Division on the campus of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.
Unlike most high school games which feature four 8-minute quarters, this game was contested with two 16-minute halves. The Jackrabbits trailed 26-22 at the break but came out firing in the second half to take control. Senior Jordan Dallas also excelled in the second half, scoring 10 of his 11 points after the break.
"We fight - no matter what the score is, we're always going to fight," Dallas said.
Zach Seljaas led Bountiful with 20 points.
Junior Drew Buggs hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for the Jackrabbits, who are 2-1 at the Tarkanian Classic and take on Foothills Christian, a 75-66 winner over Lone Peak (Utah) on Friday. The consolation matchup between the Southern California schools will take place at 10:20 am at Bishop Gorman.
With the win, Long Beach Poly avenged a 62-52 loss to Bountiful last season in the Tarkanian Classic.
"We wanted to get back and win out the rest of this tournament to get ready for league play and state playoffs," Buggs said. "We're just trying to get better as a team, bond and get better throughout this tournament."
Here's a look at how the rest of the Southern California entrants are performing at the Tarkanian Classic (all remaining games on Saturday):
Platinum Division
Chino Hills (2-1): will face Preston Christian (Texas) in a consolation game at 9 am at Bishop Gorman.
Corona Centennial (2-1): after losing a heart-breaker, 55-54, to Redondo Union, will play for third place against the loser of the late game between Bishop Gorman (Nevada) and Putnam City West (Oklahoma) at 3:40 pm at Bishop Gorman.
Maranatha (1-2): will face Constitution (Pennsylvania) in a consolation game at 3:10 pm at Bishop Gorman.
Redondo Union (3-0): will face the winner of Bishop Gorman vs. Putnam City West for the championship at 5:00 pm at Bishop Gorman.
Windward (0-3): will face Clark (Nevada) in a consolation game at 9:00 am at Bishop Gorman.
Premier Division
Long Beach Jordan (0-3): will face Durango (Nevada) at 10:20 am at Faith Lutheran High School.
Los Angeles Poly (1-1): played Mayfair late Friday evening.
Mayfair (1-1): played Los Angeles Poly late Friday evening.
North Torrance (0-3): tournament over.
Righetti (1-2): will face loser of LA Poly-Mayfair at 1 pm at Faith Lutheran.
Select Division
Eastlake (1-2): will face North Laurel (Kentucky) at 9 am at Faith Lutheran.
John Muir (1-1): tournament over.
Lynwood (2-1): will face Clackamas (Oregon) at 2:20 pm at Faith Lutheran
San Bernardino (1-1): played Quest Prep (Nevada) late Friday evening.
