Los Alamitos holds off late Mira Costa run in Division 1 final to capture first CIF-Southern Section boys basketball title since 2007

ONTARIO – Although most of the members of the Los Alamitos High boys basketball team weren’t even born the last time the program captured a CIF-Southern Section title, one person quite familiar with the achievement was current Griffins’ head coach Nate Berger.

By his own admission, Berger didn’t have a significant impact on Los Alamitos winning back-to-back Southern Section crowns in 2006-07 as a seldom-used bench player, but his role Saturday night helped the fifth-seeded Griffins capture their first championship since, along with preventing Mira Costa from securing its first title with a 63-60 victory in the Division 1 final at Toyota Arena.

Los Alamitos (25-8), which won its 11th in a row, nearly relinquished a 13-point, third-quarter lead, but held off a late rally by second-seeded Mira Costa (29-4) as a potential tying 3-point field goal attempt by Christian Kranz from the right wing came up short and the Mustangs were unable to get off another shot as time expired.

The Griffins won the Division 1-AA title in 2006 and captured the Division 1-A championship in 2007 – both under head coach Russ May – but hadn’t reached another section final again until Saturday.

Los Alamitos boys basketball team | Photo courtesy of Los Alamitos

Trent Minter, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, made a free throw with 12 seconds left to increase the Los Alamitos lead to 61-57.

Kranz, who had 13 points, cut the deficit to 61-60 on a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining, the only 3-point field goal made in eight fourth-quarter attempts by the Mustangs, who finished 6 of 17 from behind the arc.

Wesley Trevino, who hit a pair of 3-pointers and led Los Alamitos with 15 points, sank two free throws with seven seconds left to build the advantage to three for the Griffins.

Despite not making a field goal in the final 2:22 of the contest, Los Alamitos relied on free throws from Minter and Trevino to secure the victory.

Tyler Lopez added 13 points and four steals, Samori Guyness contributed 10 points and Liam Gray produced nine points, four rebounds and three steals for the Griffins, who established a 38-30 halftime advantage.

Eneasi Piuleini had a game-high 17 points, along with five rebounds, but didn’t score in the fourth quarter for the Mustangs. Piuleini also hit three of Mira Costa’s six 3-point field goals in the contest.

Jacob de Armas contributed nine points and six rebounds, with Luke Hammerschmidt and McCarthy Bedner both adding seven points and four rebounds apiece for Mira Costa, which held a 32-24 rebounding advantage.

The Griffins took command in the first three quarters by forcing 20 of Mira Costa’s 21 turnovers in the first 24 minutes, resulting in 27 points, which contributed to a 52-47 lead entering the fourth.

Los Alamitos also held a significant edge in bench scoring, receiving a combined 23 points from Lopez and Guyness in reserve roles.

It was the third one-possession victory during the postseason for the Griffins and the fourth win by three points or fewer in their past six contests.

Mira Costa, which had an eight-game winning streak snapped, was making its first appearance in a section final.