Hamlet Nalbandyan
GLENDALE -- Crescenta Valley, St. Francis and Glendale highs ended the
regular season on a roll. La Canada and Flintridge Prep did the exact
opposite.
But today, the regular season won't matter much as all five will be
playing first-round games of the CIF Southern Section boys' basketball
playoffs.
CV and Flintridge Prep will host games and the Golden Knights, Nitros,
and Spartans pack their bags and hit the road. All games start at 7:30
p.m.
The Falcons (21-5, 8-2 for second place in the Pacific League) will
play Santa Maria High in a Division IAA contest. Santa Maria is an at
large team from the Northern League.
The Saints (10-14, 4-6) look to be decisive underdogs against the
Falcons. CV ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak, going
5-0 during the second half of league play.
Two of those victories came against the Muir and Pasadena High's. The
Mustangs are ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division IIA and the
Bulldogs are No. 2 in Division IIAA.
Jimmy Goffredo and Chris Tarne have had big seasons in the backcourt,
despite being just a freshman and sophomore. Another underclassman that
has provided big minutes for CV is junior center James Jenkins.
The Falcons leadership comes from the senior play of Mark McCauley and
Jeff Myers. Those five play most of the game for Jim Smiley's squad, but
CV can also turn to Brian Kang, J.J. Aldridge and Maurice Adkins off the
bench for key minutes.
Santa Maria on the other hand has just two seniors on the squad and
has no player taller than 6-feet-3 in Michael St. Julian.
If the Falcons can move on, they will face Leuzinger High (18-7,
11-3), the champions from the Ocean League, in the second round.
Glendale (12-13, 4-6 in the Pacific League) got an at-large bid and
visit Channel Islands High in a Division IAA game. The Raiders finished
third in the Pacific View League with a 3-5 record and 13-13 overall.
Their top player is 6-2, 180-pound forward Manny Berreleza, who
averages 15 points a game. In the post, 6-6 Mike Keddington will give the
Nitros, who have no player taller than 6-2, trouble. Keddington scores 10
a game and averages 11 rebounds a game.
For the Nitros, Gilbert Yousefian, who scored 18.9 points a game this
year, needs to continue his great play. Erik Petrosyan, Tomik Iranosian,
Eddie Karibyan and Aram Tonoian can also score if needed.
"From what I've heard about them, it sounds like we're two even
teams," said Glendale Coach Steve Snodgress, whose team is going to the
