Aliso Niguel boys basketball holds off Laguna Beach’s late surge – Orange County Register

LAGUNA BEACH — The defense for the Aliso Niguel boys basketball team was on display in its 48-43 nonleague win over Laguna Beach Friday at Laguna Beach High.

Aliso Niguel (9-2) had a 12-point lead late in the third quarter, but Laguna Beach (8-5) erased the deficit and tied the game in the final minutes.

Dylan McEachern of Laguna Beach made a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:03 left in the game. The basket prompted a timeout by Aliso Niguel coach Keith Barnett.

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“I just told them it was a tie game and we weren’t losing, so all we needed was a bucket and a stop,” Barnett said. “It’s tough when everything is snowballing in a bad direction, but these guys are young and resilient.”

After a basket by Jayden Mysin gave Aliso Niguel a two-point lead, Laguna Beach was whistled for a controversial offensive foul on the other end. Mysin and Charles Gass each converted free throw attempts to put the game away for the Wolverines.

“It was very nerve-wracking but we practice situations like this in practice,” Aliso Niguel sophomore Jay Keys said. “We’ve played close games this year and know how to handle it.”

Laguna Beach entered the game No. 20 in the Register’s Top 25 rankings. The Wolverines are unranked, but this win might elevate them into next week’s Top 25.

Aliso Niguel is off to a 9-2 start with just one returning starter from last season and multiple sophomores in the starting lineup.

“This win was really good for us and we are starting to play better teams so this helps the confidence,” Barnett said. “These are really unselfish kids and it’s a fun team to coach.”

The Wolverines forced 17 turnovers from Laguna Beach, 12 of which came in the second half.

Senior Garrett Trayer led the defensive effort with a game-high 10 rebounds and three blocks.

“I really liked our defense both halves. We were a bit more active in the second half and caused more turnovers,” Barnett said. “Garrett is our captain and our leader. He’s such a steady force defensively for us.”

Noah Shihad and Samson Lassiter each had two steals for the Wolverines and the team held Laguna Beach to 29 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Laguna Beach was led by McEachern, who had 14 points, and Mack Thompson, who had 13 with four 3-pointers.

McEachern averaged 24.6 points per game entering Friday and Jack Halvorson averaged 17.5. Halvorson was held to three points Friday.

“They have two really high-level players and I thought we did a good job getting on them defensively,” Barnett said.

Keys led Aliso Niguel with 13 points. Gass and Mysin each had nine.

“Keys had a great game tonight. We got big rebounds and free throws,” Barnett said. “It wasn’t pretty but we’ll take it.”

Aliso Niguel will host Woodbridge in a nonleague game Monday before playing Tustin in the Orange County North/South Challenge at Tesoro Thursday.

Laguna Beach will play at Dana Hills in a nonleague game Thursday.