CRESCENTA VALLEY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Crescenta Valley Gets Best of Hart on Court as Well as on Football Field

Hart High still can’t beat Crescenta Valley.

Except that this time, the Indians were not supposed to. In fact, few probably figured them to come this close.

The Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball team withstood an inspired Hart effort Thursday night before pulling away for a 77-66 victory in a championship semifinal of the Crescenta Valley tournament.

Crescenta Valley (7-0) will play St. John Bosco (7-0) for the championship tonight at 8.

Hart (2-4), whose undefeated football team was upset by the Falcons, 13-7, three weeks ago in the Southern Section Division II quarterfinals, might have come to the gym trying to settle a score.

That might have had something to do with Hart overcoming a 7-0 Crescenta Valley start and 16 first-quarter points by Falcon guard Adam Jacobsen (game-high 29 points) to take a 23-22 lead after one period.

It might also have contributed to a scuffle late in the first quarter that had Crescenta Valley’s Brendon Cowsill and Hart players Matt Steffe and Eric Spindt grabbing at jerseys.

Hart forward Cody Patterson, who led the Indians with 21 points, seemed insulted by the question.

“We have two football players on the team,” he said. “They might have been thinking about it. I wasn’t.”

Hart Coach Mike May agreed, although he labeled this the Indians’ best performance of the season. “It never entered our minds,” May said. “We’re here to get better and better, not to think about (settling a football score).”

The game’s physical nature placed many players in early foul trouble, most conspicuously Jacobsen, who spent nearly the entire second quarter on the bench with three fouls.

Jacobsen did not score in the second quarter and scored only four points in the third. After making only one of his first five shots in the fourth quarter, Jacobsen hit a three-point basket from the corner to give the Falcons a 66-57 lead with 3:17 to play.

“I expect him to make every shot he takes,” Crescenta Valley Coach John Goffredo said. “I get mad when he misses.”

Jacobsen got hot, scoring nine in the final period to cool off Hart, which had launched a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 63-57.

“In terms of executing our offense, it was our best game,” May said. “But then we resorted to some bad habits and started standing around.”

The lead changed hands three times before Crescenta Valley went ahead to stay, 31-29, on a pair of free throws by Brock Jacobsen midway through the second quarter. Brock Jacobsen, Adam’s younger brother, scored a team-high seven points in the second quarter, including a three-point basket, to help the Falcons to a 42-35 halftime lead. “I thought he came in and did great job,” Goffredo said.

St. John Bosco 82, Santa Clara 50--Santa Clara, a four-time defending Southern Section champion, was routed in a championship semifinal.

Leading, 61-35, after three quarters, St. John Bosco turned to a bit of showtime in the final quarter.

Junior forwards Kevin Christian (16 points) and Jelani Gardner (21) punctuated breakaways with dunks.

For Santa Clara (6-2), Jason Guerrero scored eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Brian Clark had 19 points.

Centennial 77, Poly 75--Poly (0-5) rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but fell short in a consolation semifinal.

Junior guard Steve Peralta scored a team-high 19 points for Poly. Teammate Darrin Drew added 17 points, including three three-point baskets in the third quarter. Rudy Arriaza added 10 points.