Last night, Jordan traveled to Millikan in what served as the last act for the 2009 Moore League boys’ basketball schedule. Like a well written play, the final act would decide everything, as the 68-62 Panther victory gave Jordan its first league title in three years, and the Millikan loss sends the Rams to a playoff game tonight against Lakewood.
A gym full of turnovers (41 total for the game) and an 11-4 run in the second quarter was the difference as Jordan jumped out to a 30-20 lead with 4:14 left in the first half. Millikan never again got closer than five. Raynard Tyler played the role of sharpshooter for the Panthers with 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting, while Kierre Beverly led the way for the Rams with 16 points.
“The guys were ready for it,” said Jordan coach Ron Massey of the games intensity and pace. “We’ve got more kids coming off the bench, and we were able to maintain that level.”
A first quarter that included no timeouts and plenty of turnovers made for the fastest eight minutes of the year. Millikan stuck to the game plan of playing tough defense and forcing Jordan to operate in the half-court set. Guards Alden Darby and Reggie Givens got into the Panther backcourt with ball pressure, but the shots weren’t falling for the Rams, and that’s when Jordan went on the run, literally.
“We let them get out for a few minutes, and they made us pay,” said Millikan coach Jeff Breuklander. “We just weren’t aggressive enough on offense.” Not being aggressive and going 2-for-11 from behind the arc is tough for any team to overcome. Especially when the other team is adjusting on the run.
The game stayed close early because of the Ram defense, but Panther guards Bernard Tyler and Will Ervin quickly adjusted. With Millikan stretched out, Jordan ran cutters to the basket, and Tyler and Ervin sat back and picked apart the Ram defense like a good quarterback in the west coast offense. With nine assists in the first half on 18 field goals, Jordan took control at the four-minute mark, and went to the locker room up 41-29.
Early in the third, the Panthers went to the zone to force the cold Rams into shooting more from the outside, but this time, Millikan adjusted. After Givens found Beverly for a lay up and the foul, it was 43-36 Jordan.
The next stretch of plays told the story of the night. Back-and-forth it went, after a block from Jordan forward Darius Williams, Darby tracked down the loose ball and his three-pointer rimed out. At the other end, Jesse Jones hit a jumper from the baseline for Jordan, but Millikan came down and answered immediately with a three from Givens, making it 53-42 at the end of the 3rd.
At the 5:20 mark in the 4th, it looked like Millikan was going to finally get over the hump after Darby hit back-to-back three’s to get it to 57-52. But Jordan immediately answered with a beautiful no-look pass from Stephan Heard to Terrance Sutton for a lay up. On the other end, Darby missed another one from distance, and Raynard Tyler put the dagger down with a 15-foot jumper, a shot he had all night.
Jordan now awaits the seeding for CIF Playoffs on Sunday, while Millikan has to refill the tank for a win-or-go-home Moore League encore with the Lakewood Lancers tonight at Wilson High @ 5pm.