Ballard, Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball roll through Cleveland

LA CAÑADA — There’s a lot for Trey Ballard to offer the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team.

The senior guard plans to showcase and improve upon his versatility through the summer.

Ballard showed off his long-distance prowess , as he finished with 24 points to power Crescenta Valley to a 67-34 win against Cleveland on Friday in a St. Francis High Summer Shootout contest.

“You want to find out what you can offer and it’s about taking the time playing together,” said Ballard, who finished with six three-pointers. “You want to find out about the skill set of the team in terms of who can do what and the roles they might be able to play.

“I got hot with my shooting. Once I make that first three-pointer, my confidence shoots up and things continued to click.”

Ballard made four three-pointers in the first half to give the Falcons a 42-15 halftime advantage. Ballard made all four three-pointers during a five-minute stretch.

“Trey gives us a lot,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian, a former All-Area Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year who guided the Falcons to a tie for third in the Pacific League with Burroughs before advancing to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs last season. “He’s real quick, can shoot and play the point or shooting guard position.

“If you give Trey daylight, it’s going to be a long night. That’s great to see him put up six [three-pointers].”

Ballard’s final three-pointer of the first half gave Crescenta Valley a 24-13 lead with 12:40 remaining.

Ballard didn’t stop there.

A steal and layup by Ballard made it 44-15 with 21:20 left in the game. He made a three-pointer from the right side to extend the cushion to 49-23 with 15:35 left. He completed his long-range shooting display with a shot from the left side to make it 56-27 with 8:55 to go.

Crescenta Valley got six points from senior forward David Heckmann. Heckmann made two layups late in the first half to provide the Falcons with an inside threat.

Chris Arzoumanian ended the first half with a three-pointer from the left side.

Zargarian said the Falcons have played 10 games in the summer thus far and have begun evaluating their talent.

“It’s about figuring things out and seeing who can do what,” Zargarian said. “We have a mix of guys back, some who started last year or didn’t have much of a chance to play.

“We also have some guys up who played junior varsity ball last year. You want to look for some depth and we’ll see where everything falls.”

Crescenta Valley will participate in a pair of games Saturday at St. Francis. The Falcons will first meet Monrovia at 9 a.m., followed by Mark Keppel at 11. Crescenta Valley will wrap up play in the three-day event with a contest against Inglewood at noon Sunday.