Lady Bears cruise by the Lady Nitros 68-36 and the Burroughs Bears Boys team gets blown out 76-50 over Glendale 

The John Burroughs Bears split their Thursday night basketball doubleheader on the second of a three-game homestand as the Lady Bears came away with a 25-point victory over the Lady Nitros and the Glendale Nitros came out on top with a 26-point victory over the Burroughs Bears. Jessica Mena led the Lady Bears with 17 points in the victory over the Lady Nitros and Jacob Samontina led the Nitros with 28 points in his homecoming game in the win over the Bears. 

The girl’s game started off the doubleheader with Glendale. Back on Monday, Burroughs came off a 61-36 victory over Arcadia and Glendale suffered a rough 47-42 loss over Pasadena. Prior to tip-off, the Burroughs Bears Varsity Girls’ basketball team had a Burroughs staff appreciation night to recognize the faculty for their hard work for the school and gave them stuffed bears as gifts. 

On the basketball court, Jessica Mena nailed back-to-back three-point shots to start the game for the Lady Bears to put them up by six. Leah Davidian made both of her foul shots to get the Lady Nitros on the board before Valentina Morales responded with a 2-point put-back to increase the Lady Bear lead to 8-2. The Lady Nitros found a way to close the gap with back-to-back baskets. Christina Koshkerian scored a layup and Pateel Kirkorian recorded a three-point shot to help Glendale cut the Burroughs lead to one point. Mena then made back-to-back three-point baskets in response to the Lady Nitro’s scoring run. Burroughs ended the first quarter with a 19-12 lead over Glendale. 

Leah Davidian and Mariam Fahs scored points to start the second quarter. Davidian scored a two-point bank shot and Fahs made one of two shots at the free-throw line for their respective teams. Burroughs had a strong second quarter with a parade of points resulting in a 40-17 lead at the half. 

Alina Panossian and Grace Barton began the second half with back-to-back three-point baskets for the Lady Nitros and Bears. Fahs and Morales then recorded back-to-back two-point shots to help increase the Lady Bear lead to 27 points. The Lady Bears continued to have control in the contest and ended the third quarter with a 56-26 lead over Glendale. 

Burroughs rested their starters throughout the fourth quarter to give their non-starters playing time. Ella Anderson and Isabella Amayakyan made back-to-back threes to help Burroughs lead 62-29. Polina Gorgeiz made her mark with two straight layups to help Burroughs seal the game. 

“I liked how we shared the ball offensively and defensively. We created a lot of turnovers but our approach in this game was great,” said Vikki Oganyan. Oganyan admitted that Jessica Mena played one of her best games of the season when asked about her 17-point game. 

“It’s been a rough Pacific League season, we’ve lost two key senior players to season-ending injuries but this team is a true family. The girls treat each other like sisters. We keep fighting and we don’t give up. Those losses do not define who we are as a team but this Lady Nitro squad is more than basketball.” said Tadeh Mardirosian. Mardirosian added that the Muir and Hoover games to close out the season will be must-win games for the Lady Nitros in order to qualify for an at-large bid for CIF Southern Section Playoffs.

The John Burroughs Lady Bears improve their record to 16-9 overall and 4-0 in Pacific League play and the Glendale Lady Nitros fall to 9-11 overall and 0-5 in Pacific League play. 

The Lady Bears will conclude the three-game homestand with against Muir on Saturday, February 1st at 5:15 p.m. This game will include pregame festivities honoring the three graduating seniors of the Burroughs Bears Girls Basketball team in Mariam Fahs, Ella Anderson, and Isabella Davtyan prior to tip-off. Glendale will return to action on Monday, February 3rd also against the Muir Lady Mustangs with a 5:15 p.m. game start as they will look to continue their push for an at-large bid for the playoffs. 

The boy’s game was played in primetime to close out the evening. Burroughs came off a 53-63 loss to Arcadia and Glendale suffered a blowout 84-58 defeat to a powerhouse Pasadena squad. The Nitros began the opening quarter with an 11-2 scoring run as Josh Ballard and Jacob Samontina did their part to help Glendale get off to a fast start. Evan Baker, Evan Lanier, Daniel Beltran, and Ethan Cooper help Burroughs cut the Glendale lead to six with their scoring to end the first quarter in hopes of making it a competitive game. 

Ballard and Samontina recorded back-to-back points to begin the second quarter for the Nitros. Ballard made one of two shots at the line and Samontina made a layup to help increase the Nitro lead to nine. Ballard made the shot of the night to end the first half and nailed the buzzer-beating three-point shot to help Glendale lead 42-28 at halftime. 

Following halftime Ballard, Elliot Lawrence, and Samontina scored three straight buckets to start the third quarter. Ballard scored the basket while being fouled but converted the three-point play at the free-throw line. Lawrence and Samontina both scored two-point shots for their respective teams. The Nitros continued to have control of the contest throughout the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 61-40 lead after three quarters. 

Glendale put the game away in the fourth quarter to help seal a dominant 26-point victory over Burroughs. “It was an amazing win for this team. I’ve been on both winning and losing ends in the past where my son would play against me but it was special for Jacob to be on my team and to get a victory against the school he played for to start his high school basketball career,” said Art Samontina. Samontina also stated that both Jacob Samontina and Josh Ballard are the key veterans on the team but mentioned that other guys stepped up in the win over Burroughs. 

“I wasn’t going into the game hating on Burroughs. I have so many good friends that I played with during my time with them,” said Jacob Samontina. Samontina also said he just wanted to have fun out there and not stress about the game. 

“We lacked energy, and Glendale just kicked our butts,” said Darryl Carter. Carter also said that points are not important if you can’t play defense or get rebounds when asked about Eliott Lawrence’s 13-point performance. 

Burroughs falls to 5-16 overall and 0-4 in Pacific League play and Glendale improves to 13-9 overall and 2-3 in Pacific League play. Both teams will play their next games against Muir with Burroughs playing them on Saturday, February 1st and Glendale playing them on Monday, February 3rd. Both games will take place at 6:45 pm.