Hamlet Nalbandyan
CRESCENTA VALLEY -- If there were any questions on whether Jimmy
Goffredo and James Jenkins could perform under pressure for the Crescenta
Valley High boys' basketball team, the two underclassmen silenced every
critic Friday night.
The two combined to score 50 points to lead the Falcons past Pacific
League powerhouse Muir High, 73-66, in a Pacific League game at home.
Muir came in ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division IIAA
polls.
Jenkins, a 6-foot-6 senior center, had a game-high 28 points and
grabbed 13 rebounds, 10 on the offensive side. The freshman Goffredo had
22 points, hitting nine of 12 from the free throw line. He also had three
steals and hit three of five from three-point land.
"Those two responded in a big game. James was tough in the second half
after we had a little talk at halftime," said CV Coach Jim Smiley, whose
team improved to 17-5 overall and 4-2 in league.
"It's almost unfair to call Jimmy a freshman. Any time you beat a
well-coached team that plays as hard as Don (Grant) has them playing, you
have to feel good about yourself."
Said Goffredo, who is averaging 17.6 points a game in league: "It's
all a surprise to me as to how well I'm playing so far. Our team worked
so hard today and it paid off."
The difference in the game was the third quarter. CV outscored Muir
(16-6, 4-2) 21-14 in the quarter. Jenkins scored 10 in the third and
Goffredo added seven.
In the fourth, the unsung hero was senior Mark McCauley, fittingly on
senior recognition night for the Falcons. The guard hit two of his three
three-pointers in the quarter on his way to 11 points.
CV held Muir's guard tandem of Jonathan Williams and Darrelle Rowe in
check. The two combined to score just 25 points, with Rowe scoring 16.
But in the first meeting between the two earlier this season, Rowe had 31
in Muir's 73-69 victory at Muir.
The game was marred with questionable officiating, especially in the
second half against Muir.
"It was awful," said Muir Coach Don Grant about the officials. "You
hope that when the game is over, that you don't talk about the officials.
But there are a lot of questions on the minds of a lot of people after
this one.
"But you have to give CV credit. They are a big-time team and Jenkins
and Goffredo made the big plays for them. Goffredo was unbelievable
today."
In the fourth, Muir got as close as 67-63 with under two minutes left,
but Jenkins scored a bucket off an offensive rebound and was fouled. He
