Basketball Notebook : Hoover-Glendale Outcome Not for the Fans to Decide

Hoover Coach Kirt Kohlmeier said there were four minutes left in the game and that it did not affect the outcome. Glendale Coach Bob Davidson said it happened with 1:07 left and that it did.

The topic was the action of a Glendale fan, or group of Glendale fans, which resulted in a technical foul three weeks ago in a Pacific League game that Hoover won by one point. Toilet paper had been thrown onto the court after the game’s first basket, resulting in warnings to both benches that a technical foul would be assessed if any further debris littered the court.

Hoover trailed by 10 points late in the fourth quarter when Glendale’s Jeff Sofro was fouled. Sofro missed the front end of the one-and-one and commited a foul on the rebound. Baseball-size rubber balls came flying out of the Glendale crowd and the Dynamiters were given a technical.

“You always hope the fans don’t have a decision on the outcome at any point in the game,” Kohlmeier said. “But it’s the kids that own the game. Any fan that would do that should not be allowed at any other game.”

And particularly Friday night’s Hoover-Glendale league finale.

“The game is for the 10 kids out on the floor,” Kohlmeier said. “I don’t think anybody realizes the amount of work they have put in.”

Work that went unnoticed when the crowd took over the game, Davidson said.

“It had a definite impact on the outcome,” Davidson said. “They made a great comeback but getting those two extra free throws and the ball out of bounds. . . . I don’t think they could have come back.

Basically it was kind of shocking. It was total chaos from our standpoint.”

Noticeable absence: Leanne Poe, a 5-8 junior center, has played in only two of Franklin’s Northern League games this season because of an injury. Franklin (2-6) won both games.

“We were going on all cylinders before we lost Leanne for six games,” Franklin Coach Christine Clark said. “We would have won at least half of the games.”

Poe’s absence hurt Franklin’s inside game and allowed opponents to double and triple-team Laura Redford, an all-league guard. Redford is the team’s scoring leader, averaging 17 points a game.

First and worst: Alan Eberhart’s first season as the Crescenta Valley girls’ coach has been memorable. But Eberhart may spend the off-season trying to forget his team’s performance (5-11, 1-7), particularly in Pacific League play.

Eberhart said that because of the team’s poor play, point guard Lailani Artis may be overlooked for postseason awards. Artis is averaging 9 points a game and nearly 7 assists.

“She has the potential to have more assists but the players keep missing the shots,” Eberhart said.

Clinched: With two games left, the La Canada boys’ team (21-2, 8-0) already has earned at least a tie for the Rio Hondo League title with Blair. La Canada can win the title this week if it defeats either Monrovia or Temple City, the league’s weakest teams.

La Canada is having its best season since the Spartans finished 27-4 under Coach Bill Lukeheart in 1968-69.

Add La Canada: Cary Kwasizur may not play in the final two league games because of a sprained ankle. The injury, which occurred during practice last Thursday, kept the senior out of last week’s San Marino game.

Showdown: With Muir (7-1) having already earned a postseason berth and Glendale (5-3) likely to finish second in the Pacific League, the final berth could be determined by a playoff game between Hoover (4-4) and Crescenta Valley (4-4).

Hoover plays last-place Arcadia and Glendale while Crescenta Valley faces Arcadia and Muir this week. A tiebreaker likely would be played at Glendale High.

Add Hoover: The Tornadoes kept their postseason chances alive with a 74-72 victory over Crescenta Valley last week.

Crescenta Valley’s Brad Adam tied the score, 72-72, with 27 seconds left. Hoover worked for the last shot with Vigen Serop making a 19-foot shot with less than 10 seconds to play. Adam attempted a 25-foot shot at the buzzer that banked off the backboard unsuccessfully.

A clincher: The Marshall girls’ team (7-1) has clinched at least a tie for the Northern League title and finishes the season with games against Franklin and Wilson, both of which have been eliminated from postseason contention.

It is the first league title for fourth-year Coach Beth Ercek.