Glendale boys’ basketball goes back to drawing board, wins first game
BURBANK — After breaking down some video, the Glendale High boys’ basketball team searched through its miscues from its first two games of the season.
Following losses to powerhouses Oaks Christian and Village Christian, Glendale looked to comb through its turnovers and positioning at both ends of the court in an attempt to keep its losing streak brief.
Watching video paid off for Glendale, as it received 18 points and five assists from Daniel Madden to pick up a 70-55 victory against Faith Baptist on Thursday in a pool-play contest in the Burbank Tournament.
“The games against Oaks Christian and Village Christian were learning experiences,” Glendale Coach Ib Belou said. “Those two teams are right up there in their divisions.
“We did film the games so that we were able to learn some things about our team. You look at the mistakes and learn from them so you can get better as the season goes on. I thought our intensity was much better today, especially in the first half. In the second half, we didn’t match that intensity and we needed to be a bit more aggressive.”
Glendale, which tied for sixth in the Pacific League last season, controlled the pace throughout most of the first half and built a seemingly comfortable 45-23 halftime lead. Faith Baptist (0-4) tried to make a comeback in the second half, pulling to within 58-51 with 5:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we played a pretty average game,” Madden said. “We were OK in the first half and then we had a near collapse in the second half.
“We know we all have to get better. We need to play better defense and we have to learn how to close out on offense. We have time to do all of that.”
Glendale got 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals from Ednik Abnous-Masihi and 11 points from Mike Chebishian. The Nitros also received seven points and four steals from Eli Degrate and eight points from Dante Terteryan.
Madden made a three-pointer to give Glendale a 23-14 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter. Madden finished with eight first-quarter points.
Terteryan converted on a three-pointer to make it 36-23 with 2:25 remaining in the second quarter. A basket by Abnous-Masihi closed out the first-half scoring with 32 seconds to go.
A three-pointer by Chebishian gave the Nitros a 51-30 lead with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
Faith Baptist then began its comeback attempt. The Contenders outscored the Nitros, 21-13, in the third quarter.
A basket by Chris Sandhal brought the Contenders to within 58-51 with 5:43 to go, forcing Belou to call timeout.
Glendale got back on track, limiting Faith Baptist to four points the remainder of the contest. Glendale got a steal from Chebishian, who then scored on a layup to make it 62-53 with 3:04 to go.
“It’s a great tournament to play in because you see different styles that will get you ready for league,” Belou said. “You see what you need to work on offensively and defensively.”
Faith Baptist got 22 points and eight rebounds from Sandhal and 16 points and nine rebounds from Ben Todd.
