Los Alamitos comes from behind to advance in boys basketball State Playoffs

LOS ALAMITOS >> Eugene Mitter is probably one of the last guys who will show up on a scouting report for the Los Alamitos basketball team.

The junior plays sparingly as the seventh or eighth guy on the Los Al bench and goes about his business quietly, averaging 2.4 points per game in his 29 appearances on the season.

There was nothing quiet about his performance in the Griffins’ CIF State Division II second-round game Saturday against Santa Margarita.

Mitter’s three second-half 3-pointers helped Los Al erase a 15-point deficit to defeat the Eagles, 64-59, eliminating Santa Margarita from the postseason for the second straight season in front of a raucous home crowd.

“We’ve been waiting for him to do something like that all year,” Courtemarche said of Mitter. “He has the ability, and fortunately for us, they left him open and he was clutch.”

Mitter’s first clutch 3-pointer came at the 2:23 mark of the third quarter, cutting an 11-point deficit to eight, 48-40.

Los Alamitos (25-6) was clutch as a team in the quarter, cutting what was once a 48-33 deficit to five, 50-45, thanks to a 12-2 run which was capped by a Pepe Garcia 3-pointer as time expired in the third.

Mitter’s next basket cut Santa Margarita’s lead to three, 51-48, with 6:39 to play.

It was Mitter from deep again a minute and a half later to give Los Al a 53-52 lead, prompting a Santa Margarita timeout, which gave him time to celebrate with a roar and fist-pump at halfcourt while his classmates in the stands let out boisterous cheers of their own.

“Big time,” Mitter said of his performance. “Once I get on balance it usually goes in.”

But Santa Margarita (18-12) bounced back and regained the the lead, 56-54, with 2:55 to play after back-to-back buckets from brothers Noah and Kaden Rasheed.

Garcia, who finished with 16 points, tied the game at 56 with a layup with 2:45 to play, which was followed by a steal and basket from Eyassu Worku to give Los Al a two-point advantage with 2:07 left.

Coor Laines then swooped in to collect a loose ball and put it back with a reverse layup, and two free throws from Garcia gave the Griffins a comfortable lead before Noah Rasheed hit a 3-pointer to cut it back to three, 62-59, with 4.2 seconds left.

Los Al struggled to get the ball inbounds, but Cary Makiyama found Worku near the Santa Margarita bench. Worku, falling out of bounds, saved it to Garcia, who found a streaking Jacob Eyman, and the sophomore closed out the win with a two-handed dunk, prompting the Griffins’ student section to storm the floor.

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Worku finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals. Drew Platt added eight points for the Griffins.

Los Alamitos advances to play Poly in the CIF State Division II regional semifinals at home Tuesday.