Falcons reach 20 wins
LA CRESCENTA — The members of the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team reached the 20-win plateau for the third season in a row Tuesday night with a lopsided 78-31 Pacific League home victory against Hoover.
They planned to celebrate the accomplishment for a while before trying to catch the two teams ahead of them in the Pacific League, first-place Muir and Pasadena.
“A 20-win season is a big deal and they should be proud,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian, whose team improved to 20-4, 9-2 in league and will next face visiting Pasadena at 7 p.m. Friday. “We lost to Pasadena and Muir the first time we played.
“We have a sour taste in our mouths from losing to Pasadena. It comes down to pride and I told the seniors that this is their last shot [to beat them].”
Crescenta Valley, ranked No. 6 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division I-A poll, made things difficult for Hoover (8-16, 2-9) right from the opening tip. The Falcons held a 15-0 lead after the first quarter and Hoover didn’t score until Ando Adjemian made a three-pointer to pull the Tornadoes to within 19-3 with 5:54 left in the second quarter.
The Falcons held a comfortable 34-14 halftime advantage and the Tornadoes could get no closer than 20 points the remainder of the game.
“CV played well and we played crappy,” said Hoover Coach Jack Van Patten, whose team suffered a 55-33 defeat against Crescenta Valley on Jan. 11 at Hoover. “That’s a bad combination.
“Our guys just weren’t ready to play. That’s partially on me, but it’s also on them. We need our seniors to step up and show some leadership.”
Crescenta Valley, which won its fifth game in a row, received 15 points from guard Dylan Kilgour and 14 from guard Cole Currie. Forward Davis Dragovich collected 10 points for the Falcons, who got seven from center Christian Misi.
Kilgour made two three-pointers in a 63-second stretch late in the second quarter to provide the Falcons with breathing room. He made his first one with 1:40 left in the first half to make it 28-10. Kilgour then made another three-pointer to extend the advantage to 33-12 with 37 seconds remaining.
“We came out hitting our shots. It was a good game for us and we came out all fired up,” Kilgour said. “We wanted to get our 20th win and it’s important that we got that and now we will prepare for Pasadena.
“I expect it to be a good game. We’ll be watching film on them.”
Hoover, which lost its fourth consecutive contest, got a team-best nine points from forward Teo Davidian and seven from guard Jashley Francisco.
The game featured a five-minute delay. The contest was briefly stopped after water from a bottle leaked on to the court with six minutes left in the first quarter.
