An up-and-down campaign dotted with impressive winning streaks and sometimes disappointing losses, the Millikan Rams’ season came to an end Wednesday night at the hands of the Los Alamitos Griffins in the first round of the CIF Playoffs.  The Rams lost a hotly contested game, 71-60, to the #4-ranked Griffins at Los Alamitos.  

Millikan held a 50-48 lead late in the third quarter, as the game teetered back and forth for the first 24 minutes.  Neither team led by more than five until Los Alamitos began to pull away late in the fourth, on the strength of forward Clark Evans’ 14 points and 12 rebounds.  The Griffins had five players in double figures, and their depth is likely what led to victory against a Ram team that relies heavily on a few players for scoring.

One of those players, Kierre Beverly, hit six three-pointers on the way to 28 points in his last game as a Ram.  The 6’4” shooting guard shot 10-16 from the field and kept Millikan in the game from start to finish, scoring 13 of the team’s 16 first quarter points.

“He smiles in pressure situations,” Millikan head coach Jeff Breuklander said of Beverly.  “Just a great kid to be around. He was our leader all year and I’ll miss him.”

Guard Reggie Givens added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while junior Malcolm Whittington also had 12.

“Reggie knew he had to be aggressive,” Breuklander said.  “I told him that in practice and he really stepped up. He was probably more aggressive that he’s been all season.”

The Givens-Beverly connection was evident all game long – as many of Givens’ five assists were on Beverly threes – but never moreso than early in the third quarter, when a steal by Alden Darby ended up in Givens’ hands on a fast break.   He lobbed a pass to a streaking Beverly as he flew down the right side and stuffed the ball with two hands to give Millikan a 41-40 lead.  More importantly, those two gave Millikan hope as they silenced the packed Los Alamitos gym.

In the fourth quarter, though, the Griffins limited Beverly’s touches and Millikan’s offense sputtered.  Los Alamitos would pull away down the stretch by hitting their free throws.  Breuklander says that, without a doubt, the season was a success.

“I’m very proud of my guys for their effort,” he said.  “They did a great job against a very strong team and kept it close. That’s all you can ask for.”