The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
If there were any blemishes in the CIF-SS competitive equity format, Millikan’s first-round playoff matchup was a glaring example.
It was anything but a close basketball game to open the Division 1 playoffs for the undefeated Moore League champions, who welcomed Thousand Oaks in the first round at home. The Rams handled the team in front of them from whistle to whistle, building a 30-point halftime lead before earning a running clock in the fourth quarter to win 79–34.
“We just wanted to play good basketball at the right time in the season,” Millikan coach Stephon Price said after the game. “I feel like we did that tonight and I feel like if we play the way we did tonight then I like our odds against anyone you line up in front of us. We have to take it one game at a time, but we want to put a banner up here.”
As usual, Millikan was led by its big three of Jeremiah Hunt, Jojo Wicker, and Quali Giran, but also had solid contributions across the board as each starter finished in double figures. Hunt and Wicker finished with 18 points each, while senior Jalen Stewart had 12 and Christian Parron added 16. Giran led all scorers with 21 points.
“It’s a great feeling winning the first game, but there’s more to it and we just have to keep pushing through it as a team,” Giran added after the game.
“A lot of people don’t know about our team. Everyone thinks that it’s just the big three, but we’re way more than that,” Price said. “We have a great coaching staff, and those two guys, Christian and Jalen, those are glue guys. I like my chances going into every game with them.”
Thousand Oaks found its first points a minute and a half into the game and then went 12 full minutes without a field goal thanks to a strong defensive effort from the Rams. During that span, Millikan went on a preposterous 31-1 run and entered halftime leading 42-11.
That defensive intensity carried into the second half, where Millikan extended its lead to 40 points and earned a running clock in the fourth quarter.
“I told my guys that defense is going to be our best offense in the playoffs,” Price said. “Teams are going to try and scheme you and everything like that, but if you handle the defensive side of the court you’ll be fine.”
Millikan will be on the road in the second round to take on Windward in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs on Friday.
“We celebrate for about 30 minutes and then we gotta get right back to work,” Price said. “We’ll see who we play on Friday, but playoffs have really short turnovers so we need a great practice tomorrow and that’s our mindset.”
