By Brandon HENSLEY

With signs taped to the walls of the gymnasium in remembrance of and love for Noah Domingo, and with his name and number worn on the jerseys of every Falcon player in the warmup line, the Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball team played one of its best games of the season on Tuesday, rolling over Hoover High School 77-59.

Tyler Carlson, a junior guard, led the way for the Falcons. He was aggressive from the start, and finished the game with eight 3-pointers made, one of the highest totals in school history (the record is 10).

The team, and the La Crescenta community, was reeling from the loss of Domingo, who passed away last weekend. Domingo was a basketball and football player at CVHS who graduated last year.

“Tyler was close with him and was really affected. I think his performance tonight came from within and he did it for a special reason,” said Coach Shawn Zargarian.

The stands were filled more than usual for a Tuesday evening game, and it was because of Domingo. Students made and posted numerous signs around the gym, and every player wore pregame shirts dedicated to him.

His father, Dale, was present, and received numerous hugs and condolences from coaches and classmates of his son. Neither he nor anyone else spoke before tipoff. Instead, there was a moment of silence before the national anthem, and the public announcer Leland Waters recognized Domingo’s contributions to the school during a second-half timeout.

Zargarian said that Dale spoke to the players in the locker room before the game.

The Falcons were aggressive from the start, using full-court pressure on Hoover to dictate the flow of the game. It was 20-8 after the first quarter, and it was obvious which directions the game was headed. Hoover had no answer for the aggressiveness of Carlson, or the size of Harout Tahanian and Chuck Meyer, who have both been instrumental in the Falcons’ three-game winning streak.

Last Friday, in a festive atmosphere, Crescenta Valley easily dispatched its main league rivals Arcadia, 55-31. That game was not as pretty to watch; the Falcons destroyed Arcadia with their defensive pressure, as the Apaches only mustered two points in the first quarter. CV’s offense, though, wasn’t firing on all cylinders. It struggled to put together an efficient game, but nonetheless came away with the win.

While Pasadena will most likely win another Pacific League title (they’re 9-0), CV has a shot at second place. The team is tied with Muir for second place at 6-3 (CV is 17-4 overall), and one game in front of Glendale (5-4).

CV is at Burbank on Friday at 7 p.m., and then home to Burroughs on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

  Brandon Hensley