First published in the Nov. 20 print issue of the Glendale News Press.
Hoover High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team traveled to City of Industry Workman High and lost in overtime, 68-56, on Wednesday.
Senior point guard Michael Fernandez-Washington poured in a team-high 32 points and five 3-pointers, both of which were team-highs, and also had 10 rebounds for the Tornados (0-2 record).
Senior center Daniel Simon had nine points and a team-leading 14 rebounds while senior power forward David Khourdadjian had seven points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Allen Akopyan added six points, six rebounds and three assists, and senior shooting guard Anthony Van Patten registered two points and five rebounds. Zack Van Patten and Jenghiz Van Patten combined for four rebounds and two steals.
The Tornados also lost their season opener in a close 69-64 game at San Marino this past Monday.
Despite the loss, head coach Jack Van Patten was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We made a lot of mistakes early on [but] we never gave up, kept fighting — it’s just a matter of executing some stuff and that falls on myself and the kids, but that’s easy to fix,” Jack Van Patten said.
Fernandez-Washington scored a team-high 19 points with three 3-pointers. He also tallied four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Khourdadjian scored 18 points with three 3-pointers and added three assists, three rebounds and one steal.
Sophomore point guard Zack Van Patten, who scored 10 points, tied the game 63-63 on his lone 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining in the fourth before San Marino pulled ahead to win. He also had four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.
“Everybody had spots; it’s a nice group of players because they work well with each other and it’s not like one guy’s trying to do everything — you don’t see guys complaining when another guy misses a shot,” Jack Van Patten said. “Collectively, we didn’t play great but we had a chance to win and when we start to play well, it’ll be really fun to watch.”
Like his brother, Anthony Van Patten scored 10 points with three 3-pointers, three steals, one rebound and one assist.
Akopyan scored three points with five rebounds while Simon scored four points with five rebounds and two steals.
Hoover will next compete in the El Monte Tournament, which started on Monday, Nov. 22.
