CV goes overtime for win
LA CRESCENTA — As if one overtime wasn’t enough, the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team got a second chance to revive its flagging offense in Friday night’s Pacific League home opener against Burbank.
The Falcons, who went more than half the fourth quarter without scoring and didn’t make a field goal in the first overtime session, made good in the second overtime period with 11 points to outlast a relentless and aggressive Bulldogs squad, 69-66, and remain unbeaten in league.
“It didn’t feel like the second game of league,” said Falcons Coach Shawn Zargarian, whose team improved to 10-5 and 2-0 in league. “That game was physical, double overtime, it was just a good, intense game. Burbank [was] coming in 0-1 [in league] and we were coming in 1-0, the last three years we’ve tied with Burbank in league, so it feels like a playoff atmosphere and we were fortunate to pull it off in the end.”
Davis Dragovich, whose 20 points tied with Christian Misi for the team lead, opened the second overtime with a strong move inside for a 60-58 advantage and Dylan Kilgour put Crescenta Valley up, 63-60, moments later with an open three-pointer from the left side created by a fallen Burbank defender.
Chris White, who singlehandedly kept Burbank afloat in the second overtime with eight of his game-high 21 points, scored on an offensive rebound and finish to pull the Bulldogs back within 64-62 with two minutes left.
The Bulldogs (9-6, 0-2) employed an effective full-court press for most of the game, and it worked especially well down the stretch, but the Falcons were able to break it and get the ball to Misi for a layup and a 66-62 lead with 1:37 to play.
“We just executed our stuff,” Dragovich said. “Coach draws up good plays in timeouts and we just try to execute. We practice the pressure every day in practice, so we knew how to handle it.”
White scored easily again to keep Burbank within a basket and the Bulldogs got a stop at the other end, but Andre Spight misfired on three-pointer with 30 seconds left and Misi corralled the rebound.
Dragovich hit one of two free throws to push the lead to three and rather than attempt another three for the tie, the Bulldogs elected for the higher-percentage shot in another White layup with 16 seconds remaining.
Once again, it was Dragovich on the line, and this time he made good on both. The three-point lead stood when Burbank’s Tyron Bennett’s three-pointer in the final seconds was off the mark.
Crescenta Valley started the game out on fire from three-point range, knocking down an eye-popping eight of nine attempts, with Misi making his first four. But the Falcons still only led by six at the end of the quarter and Burbank had tied the game at 30 by halftime.
“The three pointers are like fool’s gold,” said Zargarian, whose team went three for 11 from beyond the arc after the first period. “We made so many threes in that first quarter and we fell in love with it. I think we kind of kept shooting and went away from attacking the basket, which is not going to work.”
The Falcons worked the lead back up to 43-35 with 45 seconds left in the third period when Cole Currie converted on a runner with the shot clock running down. From there, Crescenta Valley went into a four-plus minute slump that eventually allowed Burbank to tie the game.
A two-point Crescenta Valley lead was nullified when Spight drove to the basket, was stripped by Davis, but somehow got the loose ball back and got a shot up and in all in one motion.
Crescenta Valley subsisted on just two free throws in the first overtime, but held Burbank to just one basket and forced the second overtime when Adam Colman’s late three-pointer rimmed out.