Crescenta Valley, St. Francis, Flintridge Prep basketball players earn All-CIF hardware
Throughout the season, the Crescenta Valley High and St. Francis boys’ basketball teams and the Flintridge Prep’s girls’ squad made plenty of noise.
It ultimately led to each squad making deep CIF Southern Section postseasons runs, and, in the case of Crescenta Valley, getting to the final four of the state playoffs.
In all, five players from those teams were recognized for their efforts, as they earned All-CIF Southern Section recognition Monday.
Tyler Carlson and Andreyas Boghossian of Crescenta Valley and St. Francis’ Andre Henry and Dennis Flowers III picked up postseason hardware, as did Kaitlyn Chen of Flintridge Prep. Carlson, Henry and Chen were named to the first team.
Crescenta Valley enjoyed a spectacular season in which it finished 29-6, 11-3 in the Pacific League. In the Division II-A playoffs, fourth-seeded Crescenta Valley fell to No. 1, and eventual champion Colony, in the semifinals, 74-54.
Crescenta Valley then participated in the CIF State Division III postseason. Sixth-seeded Crescenta Valley lost to No. 8 La Jolla Country Day, 71-43, in the Southern California regional final. La Jolla Country Day went on to win the division title.
Carlson, a junior guard, averaged 19.4 points per contest. He set the school record for most three-pointers made in a single season with 125.
“Tyler’s ability to score and make three-pointers was something special,” said Crescenta Valley coach Shawn Zargarian, whose squad matched the program’s record for most wins in a season. “It carried on in the regular season and right on through CIF and the state playoffs.”
Henry proved to be a pillar for St. Francis (24-8, 2-4 in the Mission League for fifth place). After receiving an at-large berth in the Division III-AA playoffs, St. Francis lost to Oxnard, 61-49, in the quarterfinals.
Henry, a junior guard, averaged 19.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.
“It’s a testament to how hard he’s worked throughout the season,” St. Francis coach Todd Wolfson said. “He’s definitely a big reason for our success and my assistants did a good job with him working on his weaknesses and turning them into strengths.”
Chen, a junior forward, helped Flintridge Prep win the Prep League championship. Flintridge Prep (25-4, 12-0) advanced to the Division II-A semifinals, losing to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Lakeside, 60-51. The Rebels took part in the CIF State Division II playoffs, losing to No. 1 Mark Keppel, 73-58, in the second round.
Chen contributed 18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
“She was a lot more assertive this year and we needed her to score in order to win,” Flintridge Prep co-coach Kevin Kiyomura said. “In moving up a division, she faced plenty of challenges and she performed very well.”
Boghossian, a senior guard, averaged 13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
Flowers, a senior guard, contributed 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per contest.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
