Aliso Niguel Opens Playoffs With Scary-Close Victory Over Arroyo Valley

In a game that was a little too close for comfort until the final minute Friday night, Aliso Niguel held off Arroyo Valley of San Bernardino, 63-53, at Aliso Niguel High.

While a 10-point victory is certainly something to be proud of, the fact that the Wolverines are the No. 2 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 1A boys basketball playoffs made this game a little too close for Aliso Niguel's comfort.

The Wolverines (25-2) advance to play Walnut, which beat Quartz Hill, 56-52, on Friday, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at a site to be determined by coin flip.

Aliso Niguel came up with big steals and forced turnovers at precisely the right moments on Friday, with the biggest forced turnover coming with 1:08 left to play and the Wolverines leading, 58-51.

Guard Stephen Marshall, who led Arroyo Valley with 22 points, lost the ball along the sideline under pressure from Scott Lynds. After that, it became a free-throw shooting contest, with Aliso Niguel making five out of its last seven shots down the stretch.

The Wolverines, who went 8-0 in the Sea View League, forced 19 turnovers, including five in the second half.

“I think it was more of the pace of the game that allowed us to get more steals,” said senior guard Bryan Fisher, who led Aliso Niguel with 17 points and five steals.

The biggest shot of the night was an open three-pointer in the corner by Fisher that capped a 7-2 run that put he Wolverines ahead, 50-43. Their run immediately answered a 6-1 run by Arroyo Valley that had cut its deficit to 43-41.

“I thought it was a big three,” Fisher said. “We really needed that momentum swing. It came right after a timeout.”

Fisher hit another huge three with 2:37 left that gave the Wolverines a 55-50 lead.

Arroyo Valley forward John Moore came off the bench to hit a free throw that made it a two-possession game, 55-51.

But with 1:31 remaining, Aliso Niguel forward Daniel Spitler put back his own offensive rebound -- only his second field goal of the game -- to up the lead to six. With 1:17 left, Spitler connected on the front end of a one-and-one for a 58-51 lead.

Arroyo Valley (16-12) unveiled a full-court press to begin the game, which gave Aliso Niguel fits at times. The Wolverines had 14 turnovers, 10 of which came in the first half. The Hawks used turnovers and a fast-paced offense to take a 14-10 first-quarter lead.

“Their style really messed with us," Aliso Niguel coach Keith Barnett said. “They pressed, they played hard. We had some turnovers early in the game. Even though we won by 10, they found a way to claw back and I give a lot of credit to them. They made it real difficult for us tonight.”

Arroyo Valley’s pressure can only be a good thing for the Wolverines, who could see more of the same type of presses or traps going forward.

Aliso Niguel shooting guard Stephen Vizcaino made four clutch free throws in the second half and finished with 12 points, while point guard Scott Lynds scored eight.

“We haven’t seen a lot of presses this year,” Vizcaino said. “But it’s good for us. It’s going to be good for the playoffs down the road. We’ve definitely got to work on it, though.”

Aliso Niguel took a 28-20 halftime lead, once they figured out a way to consistently break Arroyo Valley’s press. Jonah Ganz came off the bench and hit a three-pointer with 4:01 left in the second quarter, which put the Wolverines ahead, 19-18.

They never relinquished the lead from that point, embarking on an 18-6 run in the second quarter, with Scott Lynds drilling a three from the left wing with three seconds left.

“Our game plan was to pass through the press,” Barnett said. “You know, you tell 17-year-olds that but they don’t always follow your directions. But when we moved the ball, we got good opportunities to get up the floor.”

In the third quarter, the Hawks went on an 8-2 run to whittle Aliso Niguel’s lead to 32-31, but Ganz hit two threes in less than a 1:30 span – the second with 1:48 left in the third - to cap an 8-0 run that made it 40-31.

Aliso Niguel’s bench outscored Arroyo Valley's, 20-6. Ganz hit three three-pointers that gave his team some breathing room each time. Luke Chaply added six points and had three steals.

Arroyo Valley shot 8-for-17 from the free-throw line and can only lament over all those turnovers, several of which were unforced and fairly sloppy.

“All I know is we played our hearts out,” Marshall said. “That was always our biggest problem was our turnovers and our rebounds. Today we rebounded better, but the biggest thing were those turnovers.”