CIF-SS Div. 3 BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS: Gahr routs Aquinas behind Maxwell’s career night, making rare trip to quarterfinals

February 18, 2026

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

When Gahr High defeated La Salle High on Feb. 11 in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs, it put the Gladiators into the second round for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. Now, Gahr is moving onto the quarterfinals for the first time in over 10 seasons and just the seventh time since the 1998-1999 team advanced to the Division II-AA finals.

Backed by a career-high 17 points from junior Jaylen Maxwell, the Gladiators had their way with Aquinas High in a 56-42 win last Friday. The Gladiators went on an 18-2 run over the final 5:37 of the first quarter and maintained a double-digit lead ever since.

“The kids bought into the gameplan; they played really hard, and we really executed defensively,” said Gahr head coach Marcus Girley. “The one thing I was worried about was can they beat us on the boards; will they beat us up with their physicality? But our guards were down there battling and everybody was team rebounding. We just kept working; it was just a great team win.”

Maxwell got the party started with a three-pointer that put the Gladiators in the lead for good at the 5:37 mark of the opening quarter and added another one nearly a minute later. Then with 3:08 left in the stanza, his third basket from beyond the arc put the hosts up 16-5 and they would have an advantage of over 11 points the remainder of the game.

Gahr continued to keep the foot on the gas pedal, expanding its first half advantage to 22 points with 1:22 remaining before halftime on a basket from sophomore Bryce Titus. Gahr would lead 37-16 at the break and still had a 21-point lead through three quarters despite scoring nine points in the third quarter.

“Right when that first shot went in, I knew it was going to be a good game today,” said Maxwell. “I was just finding the gameplan and we just moved the ball around. Took good shots; not forcing them, and those good shots went in.”

The Falcons would get their deficit under 20 points once in the third quarter when Vincent Warsaw’s three-pointer two minutes in made it 39-20, and his two-pointer less than a minute into the fourth quarter made it 46-27. But Gahr held tough and increased that lead to 25 points with 3:37 left in the game before Aquinas closed out the contest on a 13-2 run.

Girley agreed that it’s hard to keep his team from not letting up even though it has a lead of 20 points or more.

“It’s tough, and I think the hardest part for me at that point is not to overcoach and not to make them overthink,” he added. “They have a good flow; they have good rhythm and I’m going to add my two cents. But I don’t want to make them make it complicated. I’m just trying to [tell] the kids the game is not over because I knew [Aquinas] was not going to stop playing. To the very last buzzer, they kept playing.”

The Gladiators overcame the height of 7’1” Jumaa Kitendo, who led the Falcons with 13 points, seven coming from the free throw line, and 6’7” Brooklyn Ross, who had five of his six points in the first half. Warsaw added 13 points with all but one coming in the second half.

“I just knew if I went to the rim, he might block my stuff,” said Maxwell on Kitendo. “But I figured out I had to take my mid-range shots, and they went in. We just tried to take him out of the paint.”

In addition to his career-high in points, Maxwell added three steals while Titus scored 15 points with five rebounds. Seniors Kingston Nathaniel and Harshveer Shergil both pitched in with half a dozen points with the latter adding six boards. Senior Makhi Montgomery came off the bench to score eight points and pull down four rebounds while collecting two steals.

Maxwell, who transferred from Mira Costa High, became eligible just after Christmas and scored two points against King-Drew High on Dec. 27. He has scored at least 10 points six times with his previous high coming on Jan. 17 against Los Angeles-based Wilson High when he poured in 15 points.

“At the start, it was kind of rough,” said Maxwell. “The sit-out period made me a little rusty, but after a while, I got comfortable, got confident and got my shot back. It started going uphill from there.”

“Jaylen transferred in, and it took him some time for him to get his confidence; get his feet underneath him,” said Girley. “He’s a kid with a lot of talent, but not a lot of playing experience/ I told him he just needed to go through the process. He just needed the time, and to keep playing. The whole season for him was to stay aggressive and stay confident. And tonight, he bought in, and his shots were falling for him. I’m just proud he had his moment tonight.”

This past Tuesday, Gahr (21-9) defeated Woodbridge High 65-55 on the road and will travel to Aliso Niguel High on Friday in one semifinal contest. The Wolverines upset third-seeded Alta Loma High 78-58 this past Tuesday.