Area trio plays in tourney
PASADENA — There was a distinct local flavor to the 2010 Maranatha Summer Tournament, with three local boys’ basketball teams taking part in the two-day summer showcase that wrapped up on Saturday.
Glendale High captured the tournament championship with a 42-37 win over Pasadena Poly, while Crescenta Valley and St. Francis took home third and fifth place, respectively.
“I think we’re playing well,” Glendale Coach Steve Snodgress said. “We need to play four quarters of defense and not have that letdown. We’re kind of squeaky offensively, but when we get going, we tend to get real hot and we did it this weekend, where we had stretches that carried us offensively where all of a sudden we couldn’t miss.”
One such stretch came in the third quarter of the Nitros’ title win against the Panthers, a game that Poly led by a slim margin throughout the first half and, 24-21, at the half.
Linden Anderson, who scored nine points, gave the Nitros a 30-29 lead they would never relinquish with a breakaway layup at the 5:40 mark of the 12-minute third period.
Just over a minute later, Anthony Tahmazian, who led the Nitros with 11 points, hit a three-pointer to put Glendale up by four and Arem Ohanian sank a wide-open three with a minute left in the third to give Glendale its largest lead of the game, 38-33.
“We got going in the third quarter there,” Snodgress said. “Anthony played very well for us all weekend and we decided to rest him at the start of the third quarter.
“The group that we put in there held their own and I think that was kind of the key to the game — we got that group off the bench to play very well very quickly and we bought him five or six minutes of rest.”
Glendale had just one field goal in the final period, a deep three-pointer by David Yetenikian, good for a 40-33 lead with 4:45 left in the five-minute fourth.
But the Nitros were able to hold Poly to just two field goals in the fourth quarter.
“It was a really good weekend to let some kids get some minutes and develop,” said Snodgress, whose team defeated La Salle, 53-36, on Saturday to win its pool and advance to the championship game. “I know we have to shoot the ball better than last year if we’re gonna beat anybody, and so far this team’s starting to do that.”
Like the Nitros, the Falcons lost their first pool-play game of the tournament on Friday, but rebounded to reel off three straight wins to close out the weekend.
After beating Maranatha, 41-38, on Friday night, Crescenta Valley rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat St. Francis, 58-44, on Saturday and clinch a spot in the third-place contest.
Christian Misi and Cole Currie led the Falcons to a 41-36 victory over Keppel in the third-place game that came down clock management and making free throws to hold off the Aztecs.
“In the summer, any time you’re in that situation, it’s perfect,” Falcons Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “That’s why we play summer games and I think with the young team that we have it’s perfect for us to be in that position and for our guys to make the right plays.
“The two games [Saturday] for us were huge because St. Francis was playing really good and Keppel we’ve struggled with the last two years. I know it’s summer, but it’s two quality wins for us.”
St. Francis defeated La Salle for fifth place.