Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbu (2) slams the ball in for two as the Jackrabbits take on Wilson in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Kamarie Smith (3) goes up for the shot in front of Wilsons Noah Jaramillo (11) in Long Beach , CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Jayden Ganther (24) tries to get past Wilsons Matthew Searles (1) as the Jackrabbits take on the Bruins in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Jonas Oware (13) tries to get the ball from Wilsons Matthew Searles (1) as the two teams battle it out in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Jaysen Burkley (2) tries to block Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbus (2) shot in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Matthew Searles (1) looks to get past Long Beach Polys Isaac Hagens (23) as the two teams battle it out in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Isaac Hagens (23) and Jonas Oware (13) try to block Wilsons Andre Alvarez-Smiths (23) shot in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbu (2) tries to get past Wilsons Santos Olumese (5) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbu (2) goes up for the shot as the Jackrabbits take on Wilson in Long Beach , CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Nehemiah Parris (10) goes up for the shot in front of Long Beach Polys Jett Von (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Jonas Oware (13) goes up for a dunk as the Jackrabbits take on Wilson in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Sean Deledonne (12) and Nehemiah Parris (10) try to block Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbu (2) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Polys Jett Von (10) tries to block Wilsons Brooklyn Vega (32) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Nehemiah Parris (10) tries to shoot around Long Beach Polys Isaac Hagens (23) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilsons Matthew Searles (1) goes up for the shot as the Bruins take on Long Beach Poly in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
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Long Beach Polys Nana Ofoegbu (2) slams the ball in for two as the Jackrabbits take on Wilson in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Poly and Wilson boys basketball teams battled back and forth for most of the first three quarters Wednesday night.
The Jackrabbits, though, had one more tough scorer they could count on while the Bruins dealt with fatigue over the final 12 minutes.
Poly got 24 points from center Jonas Oware, 19 from point guard Nana Ofoegbu and pulled away late for a 70-56 victory in a Moore League game at Wilson High.
Tied 43-43, the Jackrabbits (10-6, 2-0) held the Bruins scoreless over the final 3:55 of the third quarter.
“Jonas is our guy,” Poly coach Shelton Diggs said of the difference Oware made on both ends of the court. “Every game the other team’s plan is to stop him, so they’re gonna double, do things to try and keep him from just dominating the game like that. But he does a good job just doing other things — passing the ball, playing defense — and then we were able to get it to him in the right place to be able to do what he does.”
Wilson (14-6, 2-2) got a 3-pointer from Nehamiah Parris at the start of the fourth to briefly interrupt Poly’s momentum. But the Jackrabbits continued their difference-making 14-3 run, capped by a Kamarie Smith 3-pointer with 6:04 to play.
That gave Poly a 57-46 lead, its first double-digit advantage of the contest.
Oware’s shot blocking and ability to alter other Wilson looks around the basket helped widen the gap.
“Just a couple of plays here and there during that stretch,” Bruins coach James Boykin said.
“Like I was telling my guys, we probably played about 23 minutes of good basketball but it’s a 32-minute game.”
Wilson guard Matthew Searles banked in a wild, mid-range jump shot with the shot clock expiring to tie the contest at 43-43 with less than four minutes left in the third.
After a Jackrabbits missed shot, the Bruins had a 3-point attempt from Noah Jaramillo that spun around the rim, nearly went in but didn’t, and that kept the game tied.
Poly scored the final seven points of the quarter, including three free throws by guard Kahlen Shepherd after a costly Wilson foul on his 3-point attempt. The Jackrabbits took a 50-43 lead into the fourth.
The made free throws were a welcomed sight for Diggs after his team missed six second-quarter attempts and 10 for the game.
“That’s been our problem all year,” Diggs said. “Free throws, turnovers — we’ve been doing it all year. Once we decide to make free throws and stop turning the ball over we’re a pretty good team.”
It was those issues that helped the Bruins hang around and trail just 36-34 at halftime.
Wilson center Andre Alvarez-Smith, who scored 15 first-half points, was the other as he went toe to toe with Oware in the paint.
“I felt like it was a good matchup, for both of us,” Oware said.
However, Boykin said, Alvarez-Smith’s conditioning made it tough to play him for long stretches in the second half.
An alley-oop dunk to open the third quarter and a layup with 3:52 left to pull within 63-49 in the fourth were all that Alvarez-Smith could produce after the break. He finished with 19 points.
“I think my guys just got tired and worn down at the end,” Boykin said. “It’s fatigue, and we gotta be able to get (Alvarez-Smith) in better shape so that he can play a full 32 minutes.”
As Alvarez-Smith’s teammates struggled for the most part to share the load, Oware had Ofoegbu in a groove early to open up the floor.
Diggs estimated before the game that Ofoegbu was about 75% healthy. Oware added that his teammate was hampered by a groin injury earlier in the season.
Still, the Jackrabbits got nine first-half points from him, highlighted by a sequence of three mid-range jump shots. It was part of a stretch of six consecutive made shots for the team in the second quarter.
“(Ofoegbu) was out for about over a month,” Oware said. “I know that’s a really tough injury to come back from, but he’s giving it his all out there — on offense and defense.”
The teams will meet again Jan. 26 at Poly.
Boykin was encouraged by stretches from a team that looked far different than the one that suffered a pair of 32-point losses last season to the Jackrabbits.
“I think it’s a little bit closer in the gap as far as players, the style that we play, how hard we play,” Boykin said. “I felt like we can come in and beat these guys, but they were better than us for the game. But we’re competitive, we’re a good team.”