Nitros heat up from distance

BURBANK — Glendale High boys’ basketball Coach Steve Snodgress hasn’t been shy in calling his team’s shooting dreadful throughout the 42nd annual Bulldog Tip-off Classic.

According to Snodgress, the lack of rhythm and made baskets played a big part in his squad’s winless showing thus far in the pool-play portion of the tournament.

Friday night’s game versus Burroughs saw different results for the Nitros, who never trailed and hit six from behind the arc en route to a 51-46 tournament-salvaging victory at Burbank High.

“The week has been brutal on us, so it’s good to get that first win,” Snodgress said. “It’s going to build our confidence.”

The Glendale (1-3) trio of David Yetenikyan, Dion Banoian and Anthony Tahmazian combined to score 29 of Glendale’s 51 points, with Yetenikyan leading the way with 12.

Sevan Pogosyan had nine points on three-pointers and Suren Gyurgchyan added eight to help mold the well-balanced scoring attack.

“We kept telling them to shoot their way out of it, and tonight we shot a little better,” Snodgress said. “Our juniors hit big shots, so hopefully that loosens them up.”

Burroughs (0-4) played from behind all 32 minutes, but kept the deficit within striking distance. Trailing, 17-6, Jorge Flores-Pere and Austyn Thompson guided a 9-0 run before the Nitros could run away with it.

Then two straight Thompson layups put the cap on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter that made it 37-35 and prompted a Glendale timeout.

Out of the timeout, Edmond Tahmazyan hit the biggest shot of the game — from three-point territory — that stopped the Indians’ momentum and made it Glendale’s game to lose with just over two minutes remaining in the contest.

Through it all, the Indians had two good looks at a game-tying three-pointer, but David Shaw and then Thompson couldn’t connect after the team maintained possession off the Shaw miss.

“We had tired legs, so our shots weren’t falling, but we still had an opportunity to take it into overtime,” Burroughs Coach Adam Hochberg said. “This was our best effort, though, and it’s a step in the right direction.

“Glendale is a good, senior driven team. With us, sometimes you saw me playing two sophomores at one time.”

Flores-Pere led all scorers with 17 and Thompson scored 10 off the bench.