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Tag: Blake Finnigan

  • Burbank Boys Hoops Handles Host Hoover

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    Blake Finnigan poured in 13 points for Burbank which defeated host Hoover. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    By Rick Assad

    On the same floor that the United States 1984 Olympic men’s basketball team practiced, the Burbank High boys’ team used to hold off host Hoover.

    That gold-medal winning squad was coached by Bob Knight and featured three would-be Hall of Famers – Michael Jordan, Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing, and the floor also witnessed the Bulldogs outlast the Tornadoes 63-53 in a Pacific League game on Tuesday evening.

    With the victory, Burbank has claimed four straight and will host Crescenta Valley on Thursday and also visit Burroughs on February 3.

    Paced by senior shooting guard/small forward Kaleb Walker’s game-high 22 points and senior forward Blake Finnigan’s 13 points, Burbank used a 22-point second quarter and led 37-28.

    The Tornadoes, who converted 20 of 48 for 41.6 percent, drilled seven three-pointers in the opening half but drained one from three-point range in the second half.

    Steve Eshleman is Burbank’s head coach and expected the game to be somewhat close.

    “We always get a tough game from Hoover. Again, a victory by committee for us. Everybody chipped in,” he said.

    The defense rose to the occasion for the Bulldogs (18-7 and 7-5 in league) as they played in-your-face and challenged Hoover on every possession.

    Avo Papikyan added nine points for the Bulldogs during a 63-53 victory over the Tornadoes. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    “They made seven threes in the first half and only one in the second. Our defensive intensity really picked up in the second half and that ignited our break,” Eshleman pointed out. “Got out to a safe cushion in the fourth and brought it home. It was a great road win for our kids.”

    Junior Alex Patatanyan tallied a team-best 19 points for Hoover with 10 points coming in the second hal.

    Sophomore Ilan Genachte Le Bail added 11 points with nine scored in the opening half on three from three-point range for the Tornadoes.

    Burbank junior point guard Avo Papikyan scored seven of his nine points in the initial frame and Walker tallied four points.

    Patatanyan chimed in with seven points in the first period and also nailed his only three-pointer.

    Burbank started motoring in the second quarter as it made eight of 16 field goals for 50 percent and senior guard Cris Ong tossed in all of his seven points that included a trey.

    Finnigan dropped five points in the frame and included the first of his two three-pointers.

    Finnigan’s hoop with 2:20 remaining in the frame increased Burbank’s lead to 33-26.

    Senior shooting guard/small forward Anthony Jawiche accounted for four of his eight points.

    The Bulldogs, who shot 48.9 percent on 24 of 49, limited the Tornadoes (8-17 and 1-10 in league) to 13 points in the third quarter while scoring 17 as Walker tallied nine points and Jawiche added four points.

    It was physical at times between Burbank and Hoover but in the end the Bulldogs prevailed. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    Hoover outscored Burbank 12-9 in the fourth period and made a charge but ultimately came up short.

    Jawiche’s basket with 5:08 left in the third period made it 44-30 and Walker’s field goal pushed Burbank ahead 52-37 with 1:13 on the clock.

    In that quarter, Walker had seven points and 16 points in the second half.

    Hoover drew within 56-47 and 6:19 left in the fourth quarter on Patatanyan’s basket.  

    Senior forward Giordan Lewis accounted for four points in the first half for the Bulldogs.

    Burbank made 11 of 17 from the free-throw line for 64.7 percent while Hoover hit five of seven for 71.4 percent and also outrebounded the Tornadoes 31-25.

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    Rick Assad

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  • Burbank Boys Basketball Bounces Back in Win Over Hoover

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    If things would have continued like they did in the first quarter, the Burbank High boys’ basketball team might have caused coach Steve Eshleman to lose some sleep.

    But eventually the Bulldogs got things together and turned in a solid performance the final three quarters in a 84-69 Pacific League victory over visiting Hoover Wednesday night.

    “We couldn’t shoot at all in the first quarter,” Eshleman said. “We missed layups, we missed our threes. We’ve been shooting pretty well. Give them (Hoover) credit, they played pretty solid defense. We figured we were going to pick up the pace a little bit and press and open up the floor. I think that helped us. We got a lot of easy stuff that way.”

    Burbank (11-4 overall, 2-2 in league) actually trailed 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. What was amazing was that the Tornadoes didn’t hit their first field goal until 1:19 was left in the quarter.

    Hoover (5-10 overall, 1-3 in league) did not go away easily. The Tornadoes were actually outstanding at the free-throw line. Hoover made 20 of 25 shots from the foul line, including 13 of 16 in the first half.

    A three-pointer by Avo Papikian tied things at 23. Blake Finniegan followed with a three pointer with 3:10 left in the first half to give Burbank its first lead since being up 8-6 in the first quarter.

    The game began to open as time went along as both teams experimented with pressure that forced a number of turnovers that led to a number of easy baskets.

    Both teams did warm up significantly in the second half, Burbank was good from three-point range on three second-half attempts. Hoover hit seven shots from long distance in the second half alone.

    Burbank led 36-31 at halftime and saw the lead grow to 67-49 by the end of the third quarter. 

    Hoover made things interesting early in the fourth quarter when a three pointer by Mark Khatchoyan cut the lead to 69-60.

    But Burbank responded with an 11-0 run and never looked back.

    Chris Ong led Burbank with 22 points. Papikyan had 16 points and Finnegan had 13.. Nick Niazi had nine points for the Bulldogs. Kaleb Walker and Anthony Jawiche each had eight points. Jon Ong had six points and Alec Knight had two.

    Hoover was by Mark Khatchoyan and Ilan Genachte le bail. They both had 16 points. Nick Khatchoyan had 14 points and Edward Gevorgyan had 13. Alex Patatanyan had four points. Harout Godzhoyan and Brady Bacardi each had two points. 

    “I feel like our defense wasn’t as good as it could have been, but we picked it up coming into the second half,” Chris Ong said.

    Chamber

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    Jim Riggio

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  • Burbank Boys Basketball Wallops Upland 73-33

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    Burbank defeated Upland 73-33 in a nonleague game. (Photo by Rick Assad)

    By Rick Assad

    Employing a smothering defense and a smoldering shooting display proved a perfect recipe for the Burbank High boys’ basketball team on Saturday night.

    Facing a good Upland team that had height and length but was short on shooting played into the hosts’ favor as the Bulldogs routed the Highlanders 73-33 in a nonleague game.

    Burbank scored 20 points or more in the second and third periods and nailed 19 of 28 shots for 67.8 percent in those two frames.

    Burbank drained 10 three-pointers with six treys coming in the second half.

    Three players scored in double figures and were paced by junior shooting guard Avo Papikyan with a game-high 20 points and was followed by senior point guard Cris Ong with 13 points and junior point guard Jon Ong with 12.

    Burbank sank 29 of 52 from the field for 55.2 percent during the game while holding Upland to 11 of 61 for 18 percent.

    The Bulldogs made 14 of 28 for 50 percent in the first half and led 36-17 and the Highlanders shot 25 percent after converting six of 24.

    Burbank dashed in front 16-9 after the first period and then were off to the races.

    Steve Eshleman is Burbank’s head coach and believes this was his team’s finest hour to date.

    “That might be our best offensive game that we have had all year and we shot the ball really well, but really what spurred us was our defensive strength that we had throughout the game,” he said.

    Eshleman also liked another important aspect of the game.

    “We rebounded and got the ball out and when we ran, and then created offense to our defense and getting the ball out and going tonight was probably our best 32 minutes that we put together and that’s great for the kids,” he stated.

    The Bulldogs (10-4) outrebounded Upland (8-9) 44-33 including 19-13 in the second half.

    Imani Smith-Young, a junior small forward, scored all of his seven points in the opening period.

    Papikyan tallied 12 points in the second quarter and that included three of his four from three-point range.

    Cris Ong, after scoring five points that included a trey in the opening frame, added six points in the second period as the Bulldogs converted eight of 14 for 57.1 percent from the floor.

    Ong’s basket with 5:15 remaining in the second period made it 22-9, Papikyan’s three-pointer increased the cushion to 25-9 with 4:52 on the clock and Ong’s bucket saw the Bulldogs pull ahead 29-9 with 3:25 left.

    Senior small forward Anthony Jawiche found his range in the third quarter with nine points and also drilled a three-pointer as Burbank dashed ahead 62-29 heading to the fourth period.

    Jon Ong dropped eight points in the same quarter, Papikyan added five points and Ong’s hoop with 6:35 left saw the Bulldogs march ahead 43-17.

    In the fourth period, Blake Finnigan, a senior wing, scored five of his seven points and added a three-pointer.

    Junior wing Jason Campos canned a three-pointer in the fourth quarter and senior small forward Giordan Lewis dropped two points in the second period for the Bulldogs.

    Senior wing Collin Heard paced the Highlanders with nine points and they all came on three-pointers and Cooper Omness, a senior wing for Upland scored five points.

    Assistant coach Tighe Eshelman is in agreement with his father’s assessment of the team.

    “We’ve been lacking a full 32-minute effort so far this year. We’ve had good wins by getting ahead of people and holding on for dear life,” he said. “Tonight, we really executed the game plan throughout four quarters, which is a great step for us leading back into [Pacific] League play.”

    Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center

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    Rick Assad

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