By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

The Crescenta Valley High School boys varsity basketball team headed south last weekend for the UCSD Basketball Tournament held at the college campus in La Jolla.

Six contests were held over the three-day period with CV capturing four wins.

Highlights of the weekend included strong performances by Falcons Christian Misi, Dylan Kilgour and Cole Currie.

In game three Saturday morning against La Jolla High School, the hard playing Vikings appeared brutal but met their match in Misi who continually found the basket. The score reflected an even match between the teams as they were rarely separated by more than two points. Unfortunately, the Falcons lost by one 41-40 in a dispute that included parents of both teams notifying refs that CV had not been scored accurately.

Game four against the San Clemente High School Tritons saw solid rebounding by Rudy Avila as major pressure was on Misi. A strong defense by the Falcons, though, made for easy turnovers and quick points for CV. The Falcons seemed to falter in the second half with poor rebounding giving the Tritons welcomed second chance points. But some last minute momentum helped launch the Falcons to a strong finish.

Meeting the Sun Devils, CV was unfocused, allowing their opponents to penetrate their zone defense. However, the Falcons adjusted, repeatedly attacking the basket, racking up easy points. CV maintained their lead ending the half 29-20. Solid defense carried them through with a constant pounding at the hoop securing a win 49-37.

Another strong opponent was Whittier Christian High School. An aggressive team – their teammate number 32 at one point roared like Tony the Tiger eyeing his early morning bowl of Frosted Flakes – the players were all over the basket, but with too few finding a home. A pop in the eye to Misi didn’t blind him however to where the basket was as he nailed 3 after 3.

CV Head Coach Shawn Zargarian said the tournaments are a good experience for the boys and is somewhat of a break for him as well.

“I’m not as aggressive coaching [in tournaments] as league play,” Zargarian said. However that didn’t mean that the boys got off easy. With help by Eric Strangis, DoVall Boykins and Matt Reid, the team was given clear directions on what was needed on the boards.

One note: Saturday morning’s game started late as a player on the San Diego Academy team was knocked unconscious then had a seizure on the court. After being transported to the local hospital, play resumed.

  basketball, Falcons