Scouting Long Beach Poly's state opponent: San Mateo Serra

Local high school basketball fans have seen plenty of Long Beach Poly High School so far this year. The co-Moore League champions have stayed local for almost all of their 34 games. This Saturday the team standing between Poly and history is San Mateo Serra, the Northe Califoia representative in the CIF State Division II championship game. The game will be played in Sacramento at 4 p.m.

The Jackrabbits (24-10) are a known quantity to local fans—but the 25-5 Serra Padres, not so much.

Serra was selected out of the Central Coast Open Division, where it fell in the semifinals to Bellarmine. It claimed the division’s third place with a win over Archbishop Mitty. The Padres are led by Columbia commit Jake Killingsworth, a 6-foot-5 guard with great passing ability. He was two assists shy of a triple double in Serra’s 59-53 regional championship victory over El Cerrito on Saturday in the Sleep Train Arena, where this Saturday’s championship will be played.

Killingsworth leads a fundamentally sound team that can shoot the lights out. The Padres went 22 for 42 from the field.

“They’re going to shoot it well and they’re a good defensive team,” Poly coach Shelton Diggs said. “They play full court man-to-man defense and they rotate well. They look to take charges.”

Their size inside will challenge Poly’s Zafir Williams and John Duff, who will need to work hard to keep the Padres off the board, including 7-footer Jack Wilson. On defense, Poly will have to stay disciplined for the entire game to end the season on a high note, since the Padres will run their offense until they get a good shot.

Serra is playing in its first boys basketball state title game since 2005. Poly is looking for its first title since 1984.