The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser.
Wednesday’s Moore League meeting between Jordan (12-10, 2-5) and Millikan (13-10, 6-2) was a matchup of teams who are eager to run the floor and score. The result was a high-scoring affair, and one in which the Rams were better suited to the frenetic pace in a 97-75 victory.
Junior Jeremiah Hunt led all scorers with 32 points, scoring 16 in each half to guide the Rams to victory. But he was one of five Millikan players in double figures, followed by JoJo Wicker and Salvador Lara, who each had 15, plus a dozen from Christian Parron and an even 10 from Isma’il Abdul-Rahman.
“One of the things I put on the board was teamwork,” said Rams head coach Stephon Price after the win. “As long as we’re playing together. I feel like nobody in the league can beat us. We dropped two against Poly, but I feel like for the rest of the season, if we play together, ain’t too many people can beat us. So that was a goal for today.”
Hunt came out of the gates on fire, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter, capped off by a floater at the buzzer to give his team a narrow 20-18 edge after eight minutes. He was a consistent presence for the Millikan offense, scoring at every level, in the halfcourt, and in transition.
“We were all playing together, running the floor. We were playing hard on offense and defense,” said Hunt. “We were moving the ball and we just had good team chemistry overall. It was a great team win.”
Jordan was able to shoot the ball well from the perimeter, which helped them hang around early. Junior guard Amir Bowser had a team-high 20 points, hitting six three-pointers on the night and at least one in every quarter. Josh Gibson added 16 points for J-Town, while Aaron Chiles finished with 15.
In a game where Millikan nearly scored 100 points, it was a bit of a surprise to see senior guard Tariq Bridges hit just one bucket–a fourth-quarter three with the outcome already decided. But that speaks to Millikan’s depth offensively and their ability to lean on different scorers when one of their top players has a quiet night.
“I’m a very lucky guy, you know?,” said Price with a grin. “There’s no pressure on anybody to score 20 a game, because I feel like anybody can score 20 a game, and that’s a privilege to have.”
“t’s great because we can play team ball, and we don’t need to have a hero every game,” said Hunt. “And everybody can get some love in the game.”
The Rams led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter, but the visiting Panthers continued to battle during the final minutes. Both teams still have eyes on the postseason and will look to finish strong over the last few weeks of the regular season.
Jordan is back in action on Thursday night with a trip to Cabrillo that was rescheduled from earlier in the season. They’ll play both legs of the 710 Rivalry over the span of just six days.
Meanwhile, Millikan is at Wilson on Friday before a home rematch against Lakewood. Those rivals went to overtime in their first meeting back on Jan. 8. Wins in both of those games would all but clinch a second place league finish for the Rams.
