BURBANK — It’s never too early to make a first impression.
With winter still months away, there’s plenty of work ahead for the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team to accomplish before the 2009-10 season gets close.
But, for followers of the Falcons, it was hard not to appreciate the strong fundamental base and athletic collection of players the team has to build on, as was on display Thursday afternoon in a 46-27 Burbank High Summer League win over Alemany.
“What I like with our guys is that we’re playing hard, we’re competing,” Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “That’s the one thing we’re stressing — play as hard as you can and let’s see what happens.”
The Falcons were led by forwards Nick Dragovich, who led all scorers with 17 points, and Christian Misi, who added 14.
Dragovich, a senior, who went four for four from the field in the second half and finished with seven rebounds, scored six points within the first five minutes of the third quarter to help the Falcons maintain their 11-point halftime lead.
His free-throw-line jumper off a long offensive rebound put Crescenta Valley up, 28-17, with 5:00 left in the third. Misi, a sophomore, who had six rebounds, put the Falcons up, 31-18 going into the fourth quarter after converting a three-point play.
The versatility of the Falcons’ big men was key, from Dragovich showing his shooting range, to both he and Misi converting contested opportunities around the basket.
“It’s the first time in a long time we’ve had some size and it’s a luxury because all of our bigs can step outside the perimeter and put it on the floor and shoot the ball,” said Zargarian, who was without his starting power forward, senior Coltrane Powdrill, on Thursday. “It’s really nice. They’re interchangeable and it’s working well for us.”
Sophomore center Henry Leff (three blocked shots) scored on an up-and-under move to start the fourth quarter. The Falcons’ run continued with back-to-back hoops in transition, the second of which, a layup for Adam Dassad, brought the lead to 37-22.
“In the first half, we were breaking their 1-2-1-1 pressure, but in the second half, we were breaking it and looking to attack and we got a lot of numbers,” Zargarian said. “It’s a learning process and I’m glad we’re getting smarter as the game’s going on.”
Dassad, who finished with eight points, hit another jumper at the 2:45 mark and Misi went hard to the basket for a score that put Crescenta Valley comfortably ahead, 44-26, with less than two minutes to play.
?GABRIEL RIZK covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3226 or gabriel.rizk@latimes.com.
