Big second half spurs Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball past Glendale
GLENDALE — Down by one point entering the intermission, the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team seemed rejuvenated heading into the second half.
Clicking at both ends of the court over the final two quarters, the Falcons got the result they wanted.
Crescenta Valley received a team-high 14 points from Koko Kechichian to earn a 62-49 Pacific League win at Glendale on Wednesday.
“We were down, 29-28, at halftime, but we felt good and we just needed to make a couple of quick adjustments,” Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “We felt like we were in a good place even though we were down throughout most of the first half.
“We were able to make some shots in the second half and then we sprinted back on defense. We allowed just eight points in the fourth quarter and that was our best defensive effort so far in the season.”
Crescenta Valley (11-5, 3-1 in league) held Glendale (9-8, 1-3) in check in the first of two head-to-head contests.
Clinging to a 45-41 lead entering the fourth quarter, Kechichian and Crescenta Valley went to work. Kechichian made a spinning shot in the lane to give the Falcons a 51-43 lead with 4:28 remaining.
“We needed to make a shot there and I got some good positioning,” said Kechichian, who contributed seven rebounds. “Glendale has got a tough and physical team, so we wanted to get a basket there to keep things going our way.
“The key was being able to pick it up in the second half on offense and defense. We just had to stay with it. We have a lot of guys who can score and reach double digits. We got more of that today.”
Trey Ballard of Crescenta Valley made a three-pointer to make it 56-49 with 2:25 to go in the game. Ballard finished with 11 points, all in the second half.
The Falcons also got 13 points from Journey Shank and 11 from Arman Pezeshkian.
“Glendale played really well and they have improved under [coach Ib Belou],” Zargarian said. “He’s got them playing with confidence.”
Glendale looked sharp throughout the first quarter. The Nitros got a basket from Daniel Madden to take an 11-3 lead with 4:14 to go.
“We didn’t feel good at halftime,” said Belou, who received 14 points and 10 rebounds from Madden. “It was still anybody’s game.
“In the second half, we started to veer off and we didn’t follow the plan. We didn’t stick together in the fourth quarter and we didn’t play as a team. We veered off on offense and defense and you have to be able to execute in all four quarters.”
Glendale got 12 points and eight rebounds from Edrik Abnous-Masihi and seven points from Mike Chebishian.
The teams will meet again Feb. 1 at Crescenta Valley.
