No. 3 Ayala Fells Crescenta Valley

In the end, it wasn’t a case of Crescenta Valley High playing poorly.

The Falcons were outplayed in a 78-68 loss Tuesday night to Ayala in the third round of the Division I-AA boys’ basketball playoffs at Crescenta Valley.

Ayala (26-4) is seeded No. 3 in the division.

Among the losses for the Bulldogs were Compton Dominguez, ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Southern Section powers Eisenhower and Bishop Montgomery.

So Coach Jim Smiley of Crescenta Valley tried to put the loss in perspective.

“You always hate losing but you don’t mind losing to a well-coached team,” Smiley said. “They’re a very good team that could win it all.”

The Falcons (23-6) lost despite center James Jenkins’ performance. The 6-foot-6 junior finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

He scored 15 points in the first half, which ended at 37-37.

The Falcons kept it close until the fourth quarter, when the Bulldogs opened up a 14-point lead behind outstanding free-throw and three-point shooting.

Ayala made 15 of 17 free throws in the game, including 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs made three three-point baskets in the final quarter.

“They move the ball around a lot and we haven’t seen much of that,” Jenkins said.

Marcel Burke had 20 points and nine rebounds, and D.J. Lucas added 17 points for the Bulldogs, who have five seniors in their starting lineup.

Freshman guard Jimmy Goffredo finished with 13 points and sophomore guard Chris Tarne had 12 for Crescenta Valley.