Beyer falls to mighty Moreau Catholic but revels in historic season

The game was settled in the opening minutes, but few will remember the struggles the Beyer High boys basketball team endured in its final act.

The Patriots made history, even with a season-ending 77-54 loss to Moreau Catholic on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the CIF State Regional Division II Tournament.

Beyer left the East Bay with heads held high, relishing a journey that began three years ago with a rookie coach and a senior class that dared to look beyond the Modesto city limits.

The Patriots won their first league title in 12 years, played for a Sac-Joaquin Section championship, qualified for the CIF regional tournament for the first time in school history and reached the quarterfinals.

That’s their legacy, coach Kyle McKim said, not Saturday’s loss.

“There are no tears,” McKim said. “The best thing for me – and I think for them, too – was getting to play another month together. That’s the coolest thing. We got six extra games at the end of the season with a group that we love to coach and a group that loves to be together.

“They accomplished so much, in terms of getting to play for a section title and making it into the final 16 in the state for Division II. It’s a big deal to me that they get to have those memories for the rest of their lives.”

Mighty Moreau Catholic peppered the Patriots in waves, beginning with an 11-0 run after the opening tip. Within four minutes, the Mariners gave their guests a complete introduction: Three different players scored during the run, including a Damari Milstead-to-Kyree Walker alley-oop and a corner 3 by Jullen Ison.

Beyer can point to a tentative start and wonder “What if?” The Patriots were 20 of 68 from the floor overall and missed a handful of open looks inside the paint in the first half.

Those misses were exacerbated by turnovers, 10 in all in the first half.

“The six or seven missed layups we had killed us in the first half,” said guard Brian Perry, who closed his career with 25 points. “We were scared of the shot blockers, and I don’t really know why. They didn’t really have one. We shouldn’t have been scared getting to the rim, but we were.”

The Mariners were as good as advertised.

Milstead netted 27 points, narrowly missing out on his third straight 30-point game, while Walker had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Moreau Catholic, which has won 19 in a row and will face No. 15 Cardinal Newman in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Lionel Anderson chipped in 10 for the North Coast Section champions.

For the fourth time in six playoff games, Beyer trailed by double figures. This time, though, there was no coming back.

Beyer committed 19 turnovers and shot 6 of 23 from beyond the arc. Before the game, McKim said his team needed to limit its live-ball turnovers and make shots to control tempo.

For long spurts, Beyer did neither.

“They were a pretty good team,” Perry said. “You can’t afford to get down 20 points to a good team. It just doesn’t work like that.”

Milstead burned Beyer with a feathery jumper, while Walker left his mark with his physical dominance. The man-child finished alley-oops emphatically, cleaned up his own misses on the offensive end and showed remarkable quickness for a player his size (6-foot-5).

Oh, by the way, he’s only a freshman.

Milstead, bound for Grand Canyon University, had five consecutive points to trigger a 13-2 run in the third quarter. Then he handed the baton to Walker, who finished off the Patriots with six points during a 10-0 burst to start the fourth.

Beyer trailed by 22 at the intermission but pulled within 47-37 midway through the third quarter with a 14-2 charge. After missing eight of 10 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Patriots were 3 of 5 from deep in the third.

“We finally realized we belong here,” Perry said.

Deangelo Dancer, Ben Polack and Perry had 3s, and Perry was fouled with 3.6 seconds left. He made all three free throws to make it 60-42.

“I’m proud of the way they responded after halftime. Down 22 and to come out and make a run, a lot of teams would have laid down,” McKim said. “They showed a lot of heart to battle back and make it a game for a little bit. The beginning hurt us, obviously.”

McKim thanked his five seniors for setting the program on a new course. And as a tribute, he allowed Gilbert Padilla, Dylan Weltmer (seven points, 12 rebounds), Jaden Cobb (seven points), Dancer and Perry to finish Saturday’s game on the floor.

After all, those five helped start this historic run fours year ago.

“We all grew up together – me as their coach and them as players,” McKim said. “I got my varsity start when they were sophomores and still kind of learning, and I was learning how to coach. We all grew together with it. That’s why they’re so special.

“In four years together, we won 90-plus games as a group. They had tremendous success, but the people they are is even better. They showed everybody else how to do things the right way.”

Can McKim imagine a practice without those five?

“I can’t. They’ve been such a staple,” he said. “Four years is a long time. To not have them around when we jump back into the gym, it’s going to be hard … it’s going to be hard without them.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Beyer falls to mighty Moreau Catholic but revels in historic season."