By Brandon HENSLEY

The Crescenta Valley High School varsity boys’ basketball team will be back in Pacific League action Friday night when it hosts the Pasadena Bulldogs at 7 p.m. It’s a big game for the Falcons, as their hopes for league title most likely hinge on this game.

The Falcons are 3-2 in league, lost to the Bulldogs before in a lopsided affair 67-48, and a close one against Burbank High. They’ve beaten Hoover, Burroughs and most recently Muir on Dec. 21, a road victory that had to feel good after two consecutive league losses.

The 3-2 league record currently puts them tied for third place with Burbank and Glendale. Pasadena, the perennial league champ, is 5-0, and Muir is 4-1. Another loss in league and CV is probably fighting for third place the rest of the year. If CV beats Pasadena and, let’s say, Muir also beats Pasadena, the Falcons would then have a chance at the title, something they last won in 2014 (they were co-champs with Pasadena).

All of that is still to be determined, as the Falcons play nine league games, including Friday’s, before the season ends on Jan. 31 with an away game at Arcadia.

The overall record of CV is 14-3, so it’s a team that can handle almost anything. With more size this year in centers Harout Tahanian and Chuck Meyer, and strong guard play in Tyler Carlson and Andreyas Boghossian, the Falcons have been stellar in non-league tournament play.

Beginning Friday, the Falcons have three straight home games including Jan. 8 vs. Glendale and Jan. 11 vs Arcadia. The team will still take part in two non-league showcases, one on Jan. 12 and the other Jan. 19. It’ll be a chance for the Falcons to bolster their overall record, which can help them attain a higher seed for the CIF playoffs that begin in February.

The CV varsity girls’ team is 4-1 in league, which ties them with Pasadena and seats them in second place behind 5-0 Arcadia. The girls are 10-7 overall and on a two-game losing streak. They’ll try to right the ship Friday when they play at Pasadena High at 5:30 p.m. After that, they’re at Glendale on Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. and then home to Arcadia on Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

In soccer, the CV varsity girls are 4-0-1 in league, and play today at home vs. Flintridge Prep in a non-league game. The Falcons are 7-2-3 overall. They are tied for first in league with Arcadia. CV has two of the top-five point scorers in league, with Chloe Ataya third (21 points, eight goals, five assists) and Julianna Cheney fourth (nine goals, two assists). The girls host Pasadena on Friday at 3:15 p.m. They are at Glendale on Jan. 8 at 3:30 p.m., and are home to Arcadia on Jan. 11 at 3:15 p.m.

The CV varsity boys’ soccer team is 5-5-3 overall, and 3-0-2 in league, which currently ties them with Burroughs for first place. It hosts Pasadena on Friday at 5 p.m. Midfielder Caleb Abad is second in league with 18 points (nine goals scored). CV hosts Glendale on Jan. 8 at 3:30 p.m. and plays at Arcadia on Jan. 11 at 3:30 p.m.

  Brandon Hensley