BOYS’ BASKETBALL / CRESCENTA VALLEY TOURNAMENT : Willis Makes a Name for Crescenta Valley

The guy named Jacobsen doesn’t always lead the way for the Crescenta Valley High basketball team.

Or the guy named Jacobson.

Sometimes, it’s a guy named Willis.

At least, that was the case Friday night when junior guard Jake Willis scored 18 points to lead the Falcons to a 76-62 victory over Bellflower in the championship game of the Crescenta Valley tournament.

And Willis is not to be confused with brother Josh, a former Falcon player and the team’s leading scorer as a senior in 1992.

Indeed, it can be difficult to tell who is pouring in the points for Crescenta Valley without a score card. But the Falcons, ranked ninth overall in the state at the start of the season, keep winning.

The victory improved Crescenta Valley, ranked No. 1 in The Times’ regional poll, to 9-0.

“We can come from five spots,” Crescenta Valley Coach John Goffredo said. “Which is good. Stop one guy and we can go to another.”

The game was never close, just interesting.

Brock Jacobsen, a senior forward who has signed to attend San Diego, finished with 18 points to tie Willis for game-high honors and earn tournament most valuable player honors.

However, Jacobsen, who scored 12 points as Crescenta Valley jumped to a 25-16 lead, spent most of the second and third quarters on the bench in foul trouble.

That’s where Willis came in. He connected on four three-pointers, two in the third quarter.

“Jake really stepped up when we needed him,” Goffredo said. “

Jacobsen, who led the tournament with 103 points in four games, has led the Falcons in scoring in all but one game this season. He is not accustomed to watching from the bench.

“It’s kind of tough to sit there for the whole third quarter,” Jacobsen said. “But we have tons of talent on this team. Sometimes we show signs of brilliance.”

Senior center Blake Jacobson, who has signed to attend Navy, chipped in with 13 points, coming through with eight in a second quarter in which the Falcons extended their lead to 45-31.

When it was over, Jacobson and Willis, whose brother watched from the stands, were selected to the all-tournament team.

Senior guard Vanik Abedstephan scored 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

In other Crescenta Valley tournament games:

Franklin 68, Poly 60--Senior forward Johnny Sanders scored a tournament-high 36 points to lead Franklin to third place. Senior guard Albert Torres added 13 points.

Senior guard Jaime Cerna scored nine points for Poly and was selected to the all-tournament team. Senior forward Juan Lopez led the Parrots with 16 points and senior guard Polo Gonzalez added 15.

San Gabriel 63, Quartz Hill 57--San Gabriel opened a 10-point lead with a 20-point second quarter and hung on to take fifth place.

Senior guard Alex Canizal scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the second quarter, including a pair of three-point baskets.

Quartz Hill was led by senior Aaron Brown, who scored 21 points, including 15 in the second half. Junior guard Brad Hazard added 18 points and junior guard Robert Beeson added eight points.

Blair 64, Reseda 59--Junior guard Kisembe Wise led Blair to seventh place by scoring 16 of his 17 points in the second half.

Forward Akua Floyd scored 21 points to lead Reseda. Floyd scored 10 in the first quarter.