Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball falls in overtime at Vaquero Summer Shootout
GLENDALE — After mounting a furious rally in the final minutes of regulation, the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team ran out of gas in overtime.
Though Crescenta Valley fell, 59-52, to San Gabriel Valley Academy on Friday in a Vaquero Summer Shootout contest at Glendale Community College, it left the court a bit more confident.
Arman Pezeshkian made a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds left in the second half to knot it at 52, where the score would stand until a two-minute overtime. Pezeshkian paced Crescenta Valley with a team-high 14 points.
San Gabriel Academy, which won a CIF championship in 2016, outscored Crescenta Valley, 7-0, in overtime. Crescenta Valley, which finished third in the Pacific League last season, missed all four of its shots in overtime.
“There’s a lot we can take from this game,” said Crescenta Valley assistant coach Mike Crownover, who filled in for coach Shawn Zargarian. “I liked the way we came back late in the second half and we stayed with a bigger team.
“In the first half, we gave up too many straight-line drives to the basket and then we started to play better defense in the second half and that gave us a chance to come back. It’s a resilient group that we have and it will give our guys some more confidence going forward.”
Edgmin Rostomian made a basket to pull the Falcons to within 52-47 with 1:10 to go in regulation. Pezeshkian made two free throws to trim the deficit to 52-49 with one minute left before later knotting the game at 52.
“We believe we have a real good team,” said Pezeshkian, a senior guard. “It’s some more good experience and we have a deeper team.
“We rallied hard to get back in to the game late. I think we were just a little tired in overtime.”
San Gabriel held a 30-20 halftime lead, but a regrouped Crescenta Valley stayed close throughout the second half.
Pezeshkian made a jump shot from the left side to bring Crescenta Valley to within 36-34 with 13:40 remaining in the second half. A minute later, Rostomian made a scoop shot to cut the deficit to 38-36.
“I think Arman’s effort really speaks for itself,” Crownover said. “We look for that from him a lot to make the big shots.”
In the first half, Crescenta Valley struggled at times trying to match up against San Gabriel, which had four starters 6-foot-4 or taller.
San Gabriel used an 11-4 run to take a 23-12 lead with 2:45 remaining before halftime.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
