Burroughs boys’ basketball holds off rallying Burbank in league triumph
BURBANK — Burbank High boys’ basketball trailed by 17 at the start of the fourth quarter in its Pacific League rivalry game against host Burroughs on Friday.
The Indians were shooting the ball efficiently in the first half to unease the Bulldogs, especially with junior Emery Goulet on a roll from the perimeter.
Then, the Bulldogs found their composure and went on a 20-1 run in the final quarter. But with 1:56 left in regulation, Goulet’s three-point shot got him and the rest of the Indians out of a scoring drought.
The shot woke up Burroughs and the hosts were able to maintain their lead to hang on for a 66-61 victory.
“I just knew we had to stay together and play,” Goulet said. “I knew we needed a bucket down the stretch and I tried to get that for my team.
“Our offense just flowed tonight and we were getting good looks. Everyone was passing and sharing the ball and that really contributed to the win.”
Goulet led tall scorers with 32 points, including six three-pointers, and added 10 rebounds and three assists.
Burbank senior Erik Harutyunyan and junior Leo Tahmasian each scored 15 points.
Harutyunyan added nine rebounds and Burroughs senior Bryan Oasay contributed 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The Indians’ scoring peak happened in the second quarter as Burroughs shot 50 percent from the field on six-of 12-shooting and four-of-eight from three-point territory.
“They weren’t really used to those complicated sets, so we really simplified it and started running spreads, drive-and-kick offenses as you can see with our guys in the dub zone,” Burroughs coach Allan Ellis said. “Then we were letting our shooters shoot the basketball and letting it fly. We didn’t shoot the basketball as well as I thought we were going to shoot it, but it’s probably because of the jitters at the very beginning of the game, but they had a lot of open looks and started knocking them down.”
With the scoring efficiency, Burroughs had a 33-23 lead at halftime.
“It’s a Burbank-Burroughs game,” Ellis said. “Burbank did a great job in the fourth quarter fighting back and I expected them to fight back at some point and we had to keep our composure and we weren’t executing very well.
“Once we got back to our execution in the last two minutes, we started to find our rhythm back in the basketball game, so I expect it. It’s Burbank-Burroughs. They’re going to fight back, and that’s why the games are fun.”
The Bulldogs’ spark in the fourth quarter came from shots at the free-throw line, as well as with the play of Jared Pasion. The senior added seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in the fourth quarter to help the Bulldogs even it at 56 with 2:53 left.
Pasion assisted Burbank senior Miles D’Agostin for a layup to give Burbank its first lead, 58-56, since 7:28 in the first quarter, then nailed a three-point shot with 1:21 left that gave Burbank back a 61-59 lead.
“We actually played defense,” said Burbank coach Ernest Baskerville of his team’s fourth-quarter comeback. “That’s all it is. It’s nothing else, just play defense. Period. Play with effort. They played with no effort in the first three quarters.
“Problem is, they look at Burbank’s record [and go], ‘Oh, they can’t get on us. They’re Burroughs. They’re down.’ I’m sure that’s how they saw it. Then they finally saw that they were punching us in the face and we had to play. Then they decided to play, but then it’s too late. You can’t depend on one quarter to make it happen. You have to play the whole game.”
The Burbank 20-1 run started at the 7:12 mark behind back-to-back three-pointers from senior Miles D’Agostin. Goulet’s three-pointer with 1:56 left gave the Indians a 59-58 lead before Pasion responded with a three-pointer to regain the Bulldogs’ lead.
Goulet tied things at 61 with 1:05 left on the back of a pair of clutch free throws before the Bulldogs were called for a charge at the other end with 48.5 seconds left.
With the Bulldogs’ turnover, the junior drove to the basket to score and give the Indians a 63-61 lead with 33.3 seconds left.
Burroughs (10-11, 3-5 in league) was in control of the first quarter and established a 13-4 lead with 2:48 left, but the Bulldogs (12-8, 4-4) fought back to cut it to 15-12 at the end of the frame.
Burbank junior Leo Tahmasian launched a three-pointer at the start of the second quarter to tie it at 15 and cap an 8-0 run.
The Indians hot shooting started immediately after with a 13-1 run to formulate a 28-16 lead behind a pair of threes from Goulet.
Tahmasian would later close the half with a four-point play to pull to within 10 at the half.
“My thing is you have to play the whole time,” Baskerville said. “You have to play the whole time. Period. You have to treat every team you play with respect, [with] the fact that you feel that they can beat you.”
“Like I told them all week: don’t think they’re going to let you in their house and lay down just because they’re in the bottom half of the league and you’re in the top half. People want to play, because it’s about pride. They insulted their pride today.”
Twitter: @ReporterVince