Falcons get best of Tornadoes once again
NORTHWEST GLENDALE — A pair of 10-0 runs in the first half sparked the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team and sank Hoover on Wednesday night.
Any time Hoover got close to Crescenta Valley, the Falcons had an immediate response and it translated into a lopsided victory.
Christian Misi finished with 17 points and Nick Kelly chipped in with 14 to power visiting Crescenta Valley to a 75-50 Pacific League win.
Crescenta Valley (16-6, 8-1 in league) completed a two-game season series sweep against Hoover (5-15, 1-8). The Falcons, who stretched their winning streak to five and are ranked No. 7 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division I-A poll, registered a 68-37 home win against the Tornadoes on Jan. 10.
“Hoover came out early shooting well,” Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “It was a matter of us stringing together some stops and making some shots and we were able to get that.
“With Hoover, you never look at their record and what you did the first time [playing against them]. We expected Hoover to come out hard.”
Crescenta Valley held a 7-6 lead in the first quarter before going on a 10-0 run to make it 17-6. A three-point play by Hoover senior guard Aden Ziraki cut Crescenta Valley’s lead to 31-27 with two minutes to play in the first half. However, the Falcons closed out the half on a 10-0 run to take a 41-27 halftime lead.
The Falcons, who led throughout, never looked back and sent the Tornadoes to their eighth loss in their last nine contests.
“CV shot the ball really well,” Hoover first-year Coach Jack Van Patten said. “Their size also helped a lot.
“We didn’t play terrible. They just shot the ball well and we didn’t.”
The Falcons, seeking their first league championship since 2004, continued their surge in the third quarter with some long-range shots. Kelly, a senior guard, made a three-pointer to give Crescenta Valley a 44-27 lead on the first possession of the second half. Then sophomore guard Cole Currie made a three-pointer to make it 47-30 with 5:50 remaining.
Hoover got to within 51-34 on a layup by junior guard Kyle Bernardo, but couldn’t get any closer.
The Falcons received nine rebounds from Misi, a junior center, and eight rebounds from junior center Rudy Avila.
Van Patten said rebounding hasn’t been a strength of the Tornadoes throughout the season.
“We don’t get too many offensive rebounds,” said Van Patten, who got 11 points apiece from Ziraki and Bernardo and nine from senior forward Arbi Abelian. “If we aren’t scoring on our first shot, then It’s going to be tough.”
Hoover, which picked up its first league win Monday against Arcadia, finished with 13 rebounds and 11 turnovers and made 18 of 52 shots from the floor.
Crescenta Valley and Hoover will next participate in league games at 7 p.m. Friday. The Falcons, who began a three-game road trip Wednesday, will travel to Burbank. Hoover will meet visiting Muir.
