Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball knocks down Glendale in first quarter

LA CRESCENTA — Teams can live and die by the three-pointer, and the Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball team was living well in the first quarter of a Pacific League game with visiting Glendale on Tuesday.

The Falcons built a 17-point lead thanks to six threes in the first quarter and carried it out into a 48-36 victory over the Nitros to remain undefeated in league with a showdown coming Friday night when Muir visits CV at 7 p.m..

Crescenta Valley’s first 15 points came via the long ball with Cole Currie (eight points), Nick Springer and Kris Jabourian, who finished with a game-high 15 points (on three threes) and seven rebounds, each connecting from behind the arc in the first six minutes.

“Our point guard, Currie, found us and that’s our job, we’ve got to knock down shots,” Jabourian said.

Overall, the Falcons (17-4, 8-0 in league) started the game on a 22-2 run with the Nitros (8-12, 3-5) struggling from the floor, especially from deep, early in the contest.

“They shot well early, made a statement and got us behind the eight ball right away — really that was the game,” said Glendale Coach Steve Snodgress, who got a double-double from Vahe Aristakessian (13 points, 12 rebounds). “We were way down and from then on it was just us clawing and scratching to show we had fight.”

Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said it was good to see some knock-down shooting in the first quarter, but reminded the team it always needs a back-up plan at halftime.

“That three-point shot is a scary shot,” said Zargarian, who also received 12 rebounds and five points from Elliot Wilson and six points and eight boards from Eric Patten. “You make them and then you fall in love with it. …I always call the three-pointer fool’s gold luck. We shoot it and shoot it pretty decently, but you’ve always got to have a counter to it.”

The Falcons made just three three-pointers in the second half, which allowed the Nitros to keep the game from escalating into a complete blowout.

Glendale didn’t begin to put a dent in the deficit until the final quarter, however, when Zargarian subbed out most of his starters. The Nitros put together their finest run with four minutes to play in the game, behind some CV turnovers.

Aristakessian forced a steal and turned it into a layup with 6:03 to go to bring the Nitros within 21, 42-21. Glendale’s Stephan Arakelyan repeated that feat and Arada Zakarian (13 points) notched consecutive buckets on a layup and pull-up three to bring the score to 42-28 with 4:06 left.

“I liked how our guys fought in the second half,” Snodgress said. “I thought we really tightened up. ... We showed some spirit and some fight, that’s what I asked them to do and that’s we did.”