ALISO VIEJO — Nobody on the current Aliso Niguel boys basketball team was born the last time the Wolverines played for a CIF Southern Section championship.
The Wolverines changed that by beating Gahr 66-59 on Friday in the Division 3 semifinals in front of a capacity crowd at Aliso Niguel High.
Aliso Niguel (24-8) will play Murrieta Mesa next week for the championship.
The Wolverines won their lone CIF-SS championship in school history in 2005 when it beat El Toro to win the Division 1A boys basketball title.
“It’s been a long time and I don’t totally remember what that feeling was like. It feels like a lifetime ago,” said Aliso Niguel coach Keith Barnett, who was the head coach of that 2005 team. “I’m just excited for this team. They’ve really gotten better at the right time. They’ve really bought into playing for each other.”
“We are playing for more than for our team,” Aliso Niguel senior Jayden Mysin said. “We are playing for our school and community.”
Gahr (21-10) most recently played for a CIF-SS championship in 2015 and most recently won a championship in 2011.
The Gladiators were the third-place representative from the Gateway League and beat La Salle, Aquinas and Woodbridge in the playoffs.
Throughout Aliso Niguel’s playoff run, it has been able to overwhelm opponents with its 3-point shooting. The Wolverines made 15 3-pointers in their second-round win over Glendora and beat Alta Loma by 20 points in the quarterfinals.
Aliso Niguel showed it can win with its interior play in the second half rather than making 3s. The Wolverines made just three 3-pointers during its second-half run and scored 24 points in the paint.
The trio of Mysin, Jay Keys and Wyatt Richmond combined for 30 points in the second half, 24 of them coming in the paint.
“(In the) second half we were moving the ball better, playing better defense and rebounding more,” Keys said. “We were holding them to one shot, they weren’t getting any offensive boards. That’s how we have to play the whole game.”
The Wolverines allowed just two offensive rebounds in the second half and two second-chance points.
Aliso Niguel trailed by nine in the final minutes of the first half and went on an 8-0 run to go into halftime trailing 32-29.
Gahr went on its own 18-2 run midway through the second quarter which prompted an Aliso Niguel timeout. The Gladiators outrebounded Aliso Niguel 17-9 in the first half but only had 11 rebounds in the second half compared to 16 for the Wolverines.
Mysin led Aliso Niguel with 24 points. Richmond and Keys each had 16 points with seven rebounds.
Henry Coulston led Aliso Niguel’s defense with a pair of steals and a block.
Bryce Titus led Gahr with 14 points and Makhi Montgomery added 11.
Aliso Niguel entered Sea View League play after losing three out of four games in the Desert Holiday Classic in Rancho Mirage. Since then, Aliso Niguel is on a county-high 13-game winning streak.
“I think we have really good leadership with Keys and Mysin,” Barnett said. “They sort of kept us going when they could have splintered off and they didn’t. Everyone just does their job and is happy doing whatever they have to do to help the team.”
“They are confident, but not cocky. I think they are also eager to be in this environment. I think the moment will be exciting but won’t be too big for them.”
Aliso Niguel is 2-0 all-time against its championship opponent, Murrieta Mesa. The Wolverines won the most recent game between the two teams 68-55 last season.
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