Shel Segal
Sometimes, it's not what a team does in the final minutes of a
basketball game that leads to an eventual win.
Instead, it's often what it does early in the first quarter that
makes a difference.
The Burbank High boys' team proved that Monday night.
The Bulldogs opened the game with eight straight points against
visiting Hoover and held off a late rally to win, 43-39, in a
nonleague game at Burbank.
Despite staving off the Tornadoes, Burbank Coach Jose Hernandez
praised his opponent's effort.
"They're a good team," Hernandez said of Hoover. "You've got to
give them credit."
Hernandez added his team didn't quit either down the stretch.
"It was two teams that had some success, and it evened out after a
bit," he said. "Fortunately, we made some shots and it kind of just
solidified it for us."
Hoover center Zare Zagaryan, who led all scorers with 17 points,
said the loss was hard to take.
"We needed this one," he said. "[Burbank was] a solid shooting
team. They picked it up in the fourth quarter."
Down, 8-0, Hoover (8-7) started to come back and eventually tied
the game at 18 with 2:53 left in the second quarter on a
three-pointer by guard Sevak Khoddagholian.
However, field goals by Bulldog guard Greg Olmos -- who finished
with seven points -- and forward Serob Oganesyan put Burbank on top,
23-20, at halftime.
"We gave them too many shots," Hoover Coach Vigen Jilizian said.
"We started blocking out. They took advantage of it. We softened up.
We started the game soft and ended soft. We gave them three shots to
our one."
Burbank (13-3) increased its lead in the third quarter, 35-28,
behind the play of Oganesyan, who led the Bulldogs with 15 points and
11 rebounds.
Forward Robert Linda also pitched in for the Bulldogs, recording
11 points and eight rebounds.
Hoover came within two points of the Burbank lead with 2:31 left
on a field goal by Zagaryan, but Burbank was able to get a little
breathing room on an Oganesyan three-pointer and field goal by
forward Eddy Boada.
However, the Tornadoes wouldn't quit, closing within 42-39 on a
three-pointer and free throw by Zagaryan.
Hoover forward Grigor Odjakian helped his team's cause, netting 10
points, second highest on the team.
