On the evening of Feb. 4, the Arcadia High School (AHS) Varsity Boys Basketball team clashed against Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS). The final score was 52-45.

The first quarter of the game started off well for CVHS due to their dominating lead. They started off the game and five minutes in, the Falcons had scored a total of 14 points. The Apaches  managed only nine points against the Falcons. AHS played really well for the rest of the quarter with a very memorable layup made by Freshman Owen Eteuati Edwards (number 5). Adding to that, CVHS made a standout layup as well by senior Vaughn Zargrarian ending the remarkable first quarter with a score of 18-16.

The AHS team were on the losing end of the game by just one point so they had not given up as they still had three quarters left and much more time to score and possibly win. 

After their 10 minute break going into the second quarter they jumped right back into the game and fought even harder than before. This quarter was where all the magic was happening. People from both teams were scoring from left to right. From Junior Mateo Ingersoll, number 3, the MVP from AHS scoring amazing layups and three pointers to Senior Michael Sahagian scoring great three pointers from CVHS. The game was heated, and the players were too, but some players, like Ingersoll were going in and out of the game due to injuries. Ingersoll eventually left during the team’s break from 2nd quarter to 3rd quarter due to cramping in his calf muscle. AHS continued on in the 2nd quarter even if their star player was having to be subbed every other minute and led on. The 2nd quarter ended with an alley-oop from Senior Nico Mockthari to Ingersoll and left the game at a score of 31-36, CVHS in the lead again. AHS was falling behind, but still had two quarters left, so still, a fighting chance.

“One personal point in the game that I was proud of was when I scored off an alley-oop from Mockthari at the very end of the 2nd quarter, and I’m proud of that because it helped us have high energy going into halftime and leaving the 2nd half,” said Ingersoll, the most scoring player from AHS with 15 points to his name. 

After the 15 minute break from 2nd quarter to 3rd quarter, the Apaches and Falcons faced each other again on the court and dropped the ball. This time, CVHS showed more skill. Junior Arman Bedrossian along with Zargarian showed their big-time three pointers which really started to show what the game’s outcome was going to look like. Although AHS players like Edwards hit some solid, clean, layups, they were not able to catch up to CVHS during that quarter either as they were making more point worthy shots than that of AHS. The 3rd quarter ended with some good rebounds and assists from both sides, but AHS had the misfortune of missing most of their free throw shots. That is what really put them behind. With CVHS in the lead, the quarter ended with a score of 52-45.

“The key factor for losing was missed free throws for us since we lost by seven but missed eight free throws as a team, so that alone could have won the game for us,” said Ingersoll. He shared how the game was truly lost by the eight missed free throws and how it could have gone AHS’ way if they had simply made those free throws. 

Going into the 4th quarter, players like O. Edwards and Freshman Nick Wallace were the real highlights of AHS, and Zargarian and Sahagian were for CVHS. Great shots made by both sides, but incomparable to Edwards’ layups which were really helping to keep the Apaches in the game. More rebounds and assists were made on the Apache side, but just not enough were made to fight against the leading opposition. CVHS made more points in the last quarter than AHS and ended the game with a score of 52-45. 

Both AHS and CVHS played tenaciously, but in the end, CVHS was the one to bring home the game’s win and the game’s MVP, Zargarian, who brought home 22 points to his name.

When asked what the best aspect of the game was, Ingersoll answered, “The best aspect in the game for us was how we competed and fought the whole game even when stuff didn’t go our way.”