TEMECULA — Rancho Christian embodied the phrase “go big or go home” and leaned on 6-foot-9 forward Daniel Bol late in Tuesday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal to defeat Millikan 71-62 and advance to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
Bol, a junior power forward, emphasized the “power” portion of his position and after the Rams built their biggest lead of the game, 56-52, with 6:23 to play. He scored eight of his 16 points in the final frame, including a nifty turnaround jumper that knotted the game at 56-all, and then a dunk with 3:54 to play to break another tie and launch the Eagles’ 12-3 run that closed out the hard-fought contest.
Rancho Christian won its sixth consecutive game to improve to 22-9 and earn a berth in the CIF State playoffs.
But more important to the Eagles is Friday’s semifinal matchup at home against top-seeded Crean Lutheran, which raced past Village Christian 83-53 Tuesday. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
“It’s taken us a long time to get to where we want to be, and we want to be playing our best basketball here in February, not in November,” Rancho Christian coach Jalen Lake said.
Millikan’s sharpshooters never let the Eagles build more than a seven-point lead, repeatedly clawing back by firing from long range. The Rams, led by freshman guard Quali Giral’s 21 points, drained seven three-pointers. Senior guard Jeremiah Hunt had 17 points and senior Joseph Wicker tossed in 10 points. And junior forward Christian Parker fought for offensive rebounds on four successive possessions in the third period that the Rams converted into points that kept the game close.
“He’s been battling all year,” coach Stephon Price said. “We put him against guys, 7-foot, 6-foot-10, and he’s only 6-4. He’s been battling, and that’s his DNA.”
Price was emotional after the contest. The Rams (24-7), who marched through the rugged Moore League without a loss and were seeking their first semifinal berth since 2022, had their 13-game win streak snapped.
“It hurts because you know the work they put in, all the three-a-day workouts we do, all the off-the-court stuff,” Page said. “They fight, and you have to give it up to them. We have to keep on working to get better.”
Millikan’s peskiness concerned Lake.
“They’re a tough program. We watched lots of film, and we knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Lake said.
“It starts with the second chances. No. 21 (Perron) was a dog on the rebounds, He works hard, and they have a great group of guards that we knew were going to be a handful.
“There were a few mishaps, We made a few mistakes and it cost us, but the main thing is we stuck to it, bounced back and stacked some stops together when it really mattered.
“We have to be tougher down the stretch,” Lake said. “We’re the bigger team. We can’t allow guys to come in here and get second chance after second chance. We have to be mentally and physically tougher.”
Jeremiah Profit, a transfer from Temecula Valley, where he was coached by his father, scored 11 of his 21 points in the second half to lead Rancho Christian.
“He’s a one-of-a-kind player, one of the top players in the country for a reason,” Lake said. “His ability to make everyone around him better is something that people don’t seem to look at. Everybody can score the ball, we know that. But his ability to get others involved, to elevate other people’s games, in my opinion, makes him a top-30 player in the country.”
Tony Rutledge had 14 points and 6-foot-9 center Dave Mapey chipped in 10 for Rancho Christian, which has won 15 of its last 16 contests.
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