By Brandon HENSLEY

The longest playoff run in Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball history came to an end Tuesday night, and this one will surely be remembered for a long time.

Not the game itself. That was kind of a dud. The Falcons couldn’t make shots and, for the most part, couldn’t stop the other team, La Jolla Country Day, as the Torreys ran away from the Falcons in a 71-43 win in the CIF State Division III Southern Section Regional final.

The Falcons got down early and couldn’t find the resilience that led them to one of the best seasons in program history – mainly because they couldn’t hit a basket. Andreyas Boghossian, a key fixture in offense, went cold in the second quarter and started to force passes that led to turnovers. Tyler Carlson, a reliable shooter, once again led the team with 17 points, but he never really found his stroke either. At one point in the second quarter, center Chuck Meyer slipped away from the defense, received a bounce pass on the run, but instead of an easy layup, he decided to dunk it.

It went in … and came out. It was that kind of night.

CV made a brief run in the third and, after hitting a three-pointer, they were down 43-28, and the crowd and fans were back into it. But the Torreys, a Division I team, were too big and too good.

The loss, though, won’t dampen an otherwise great season for Coach Shawn Zargarian, his coaching staff, and his players. The Falcons went 29-6, tied the school record for most wins, advanced to the semifinals in CIF Southern Section Division II-A playoffs, and then won three games in state, falling a game short of playing for the Division III state championship.

CV can add another plaque to its trophy case. After the game, Zargarian accepted the regional runner-up trophy, sharing a hug with school principal Linda Junge.

After losing in the Southern Section playoffs, a team can run out of steam in state by mentally checking out. That didn’t happen to the Falcons. They controlled every aspect of the first-round game against Bakersfield, and won an exciting overtime game vs. Santa Barbara, which had the Falcons under their foot most of the contest (they were up 21-10 after the first quarter, and it didn’t look good), which made the extra period so surprising: CV dominated in the frame and won 71-59.

In the semifinals, they didn’t have to travel far, heading out to  Granada Hills Charter High School. It was another rollercoaster of a game, going down to the last second as Granada Hills missed a free-throw that would have tied it and sent it to overtime.

CV didn’t get the breaks in the Southern Section playoffs. After winning at home in the first round, it lost the coins flips for every matchup, and was forced to travel to Culver City, Compton and then Colony. It ran out of steam against Colony, but the boys were ready to go for state. The Falcons were able to play three home games, by virtue of them being the higher seed for those contests. It helped the team to a season that won’t soon be forgotten.

  Brandon Hensley