Three-point shooting helps Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball hold off Glendale late
Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball pulled away from Glendale on Friday night.
Some potent sharp shooting from the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team proved the difference despite a wild fourth quarter, as the Falcons defeated host Glendale, 70-64, in Pacific League play Friday evening.
The victory kept the Falcons in the thick of the Pacific League playoff picture as Crescenta Valley improved to 18-7 and 8-4 in league, which ties the team with Burroughs (8-4) for third behind Pasadena (11-1) and Muir (9-3).
Yet, even with the victory, Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian wasn’t too pleased with his team’s play late, which was magnified by Glendale’s ability to claw back.
“We stopped playing,” Zargarian said. “It was combination of things. We missed a layup and we had an ill-advised pass and then we give up straight line drives to the basket because we’re up by eight with a minute left and suddenly it’s a two-possession game.”
Crescenta Valley appeared to deliver a dagger when senior guard Gabe Ajemian, who was second on the squad with 19 points to Arin Ovanessian’s 24 points, scored on an offensive rebound with 2:12 left to put the Falcons up, 66-55.
There was no quit in Glendale (9-16, 2-10), though, which boasted four scorers who tallied nine or more points led by a team-high 14 points from junior guard Mike Chebishian.
Senior forward Daniel Gonzalez drained a three-pointer for the Nitros followed by a steal and layup from Chebishian with 55 seconds left as Glendale pulled within 66-60.
In an interesting and perhaps odd move, Glendale did not immediately foul Crescenta Valley. At that point, the Nitros had only five team fouls, yet wound down almost 30 seconds before Falcons junior guard Trey Ballard was sent to the line.
Ballard, who hit five three-pointers in scoring 17 points, sank two free throws with 27.7 seconds left to put his team up eight.
Glendale answered with a layup from Carino Larrenz (10 points) and then forced a Falcons turnover.
Nitros junior guard Daniel Madden (nine points) cashed in the mistake by strolling through the paint unabated for a layup with 13 seconds remaining to suddenly pull Glendale within 68-64.
On the ensuing Falcons inbounds play, 4.5 seconds came off the clock before Glendale was granted a timeout.
The stoppage threw Zargarian into a fit as the coach protested Glendale’s ability to call a timeout with the ball in the Falcons’ possession.
Despite the hijinks, Crescenta Valley survived as Ovanessian hit two free throws with 7.6 seconds left to ice the game.
With time working against Glendale late, Nitros Coach Ib Belou clarified why it took more than 25 seconds to force Crescenta Valley into a one-plus-one bonus.
“We were going to try to get a quick steal first and it just didn’t happen,” Belou said. “We just didn’t make the read and then we fouled too late. That’s on me.”
Glendale led, 5-2, in the first after a three-pointer form Chebishian before the Falcons made a push.
Ovanessian drained three of his six three-pointers and Ajemian had a thunderous dunk to give the Falcons a 19-12 lead after one.
Ovanessian later hit a three-pointer before the end of the second quarter to give the Falcons a 35-27 advantage at the break.
Ballard sank two of his five threes in the third quarter to help propel Crescenta Valley to a 48-37 lead at the two-minute mark.
“This was a real fun game because the crowd was really getting into it,” Ballard said. “We would make a run and then they would come back, so the emotions were high. I’m just happy I shot well.
“After I made that first one, I had confidence and I think we shot pretty well as a team.”
Glendale battled and closed out the third with an 8-0 run highlighted by a spectacular 30-foot buzzer-beating three from Alex Ramos (13 points) as the Nitros pulled within 48-45.
“Tonight, we wanted to show that we weren’t afraid of anyone,” Belou said. “It’s been a tough week and a tough year, but this team is growing and learning and games like these will only help us for the future.”
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
