Burbank boys’ basketball tips off season on right note
BURBANK — Following weeks of practices and scrimmages, the Burbank High boys’ basketball team ushered in a new era by taking to the court for its season-opening game Tuesday night.
With new coach Jamayme Potts now calling the plays from the sideline, Burbank gave its coach plenty to smile about after it posted a 72-44 win against Bakersfield Stockdale in a pool-play game of the Burbank Tournament.
Faraz Khandaker led the charge for the Bulldogs, scoring a game-high 22 points, and Michael woods added 19.
“That’s the thing about our practices in that we enjoy them and they go all out so they are ready for the games,” said Potts, who took over the program from Jerry DeLaurie. “They have been able to put it all together in practice and they did it in the game. You saw a lot of good results.”
A balanced scoring attack aided the Bulldogs, who never trailed against Stockdale (0-2).
Burbank quickly built a 10-point lead at 17-7 late in the first quarter and held Stockdale at bay the rest of the way.
Khandaker, a junior center, heated up immediately. He finished with 15 first-half points to help the Bulldogs grab a 39-18 halftime lead.
“It’s huge to start off well and get coach his first win,” Khandaker said. “It’s something we had set out to do and we wanted to win real bad.
“We worked hard during the summer and fall practices because we want to do a much better job. He pushed us to the limit with the practices and it’s gotten us going. He’s told us just to stay motivated and good things will happen.”
Plenty went right for Khandaker, who made a three-pointer from the left side to give Burbank a 30-13 advantage with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter. He then made another three-pointer with 2:21 left in the first half to extend the lead to 37-17.
“When Faraz is on, we are definitely a much better team,” Potts said. “We also have a lot of guys who can contribute and we are pretty deep.”
Woods provided an inside scoring threat for the Bulldogs. He collected 10 first-half points. Burbank also saw Ellie Hanno finished with 10 points.
Burbank will compete in another pool-play contest at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday against Pacific Hills.
“We just want to try to keep it going,” Khandaker said. “We feel like we’re going to be a much better team overall and we have the right group of players here who can contribute in different ways.”
Stockdale received a team-high 16 points from Grant Johnson.
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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich