SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 5-A Quarterfinals : Servite Unravels at the End : 4th-Quarter Woes Lead to Victory by Millikan, 49-45

Servite High School played as well as it could for three quarters in its Southern Section 5-A division game Friday night, leading No. 2-seeded Millikan by as many as seven points. But the final quarter was one of the worst of the season for the Friars.

Millikan scored six unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 35-34 lead and gained a 49-45 quarterfinal victory in front of 2,000 fans in Titan Gym. The victory puts Millikan into the semifinals on Wednesday night against Lakewood in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Kenny Jarvis led the Rams (23-3) with eight points in the final quarter and finished with 17. The Friars committed eight turnovers in the fourth quarter.

But the biggest blow to Servite came with 3:30 remaining and the score tied, 41-41. Forward Tony Smalley was charged with his fifth foul while grabbing a defensive rebound and was charged with a technical foul for throwing the ball into the stands.

With no outside threat, the Friars (14-12) were outscored, 8-4, in the final three minutes. Servite Coach Larry Walker said losing Smalley may have been the difference.

“It hurt a lot,” Walker said. “He knew he had four fouls, so he shouldn’t have done that. The young man wasn’t very smart. That really hurt.”

Still, the Friars were not rebounding or moving the ball in the quarter. “We made mental mistakes and physical mistakes at crucial times and it cost us the ballgame,” Walker said. “Against that type of competition, you can’t do that.”

With Servite leading, 42-41, with 2:26 remaining, Friar guard Shawn Sullivan missed an 18-foot jump shot. The Rams scored on their next possession and never trailed again.

“That wasn’t the shot we wanted,” Walker said.

With Smalley on the bench, Walker instructed his players to get the ball inside. But center Nick Marusich let a pass slip through his hands and out of bounds for another critical turnover. Servite trailed at the time, 43-41, and there was only 43 seconds remaining.

“We tried to go inside, and we would lose it or drop it,” Walker said. “It’s very frustrating from that standpoint.”

Bill Odell, Millikan coach, said the Rams were fortunate to advance.

“We played so poorly most of the game, but at the end we were still competitive,” he said. “When we went to the man defense (in the fourth quarter), our competitiveness really came out. Besides, I thought Jarvis really played well.”