With the two schools separated by about a mile, the Burroughs High and Providence boys’ basketball teams left Burbank and found themselves in a head-to-head showdown in the San Gabriel Valley on Tuesday.
Burroughs and Providence showcased a close battle on the court that came down to the final possession.
Burroughs received a game-high 20 points from Chase Kardash and held off a late rally by Providence to register a 60-59 victory in an opening-round game of the Rose City Roundball Classic at Maranatha High in Pasadena.
Burroughs (6-0) held a 59-50 lead with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter before fending off Providence (1-2) in the waning seconds.
“It’s two teams that play a similar style,” Burroughs first-year coach Austin Pope said. “It’s mostly high tempo and up and down the court. We had to match Providence’s energy the whole game.
“Providence is well coached and they have a good overall team. We knew they weren’t going to go away in the fourth quarter.”
Burroughs’ Elijah Orjuela missed the first of two free throws before making the second attempt with 18.9 seconds left to make it 60-57. Providence called timeout with 15.1 seconds to go. Soloman Huang of Providence scored on a layup with two seconds to play before Burroughs ran out the clock without inbounding the ball.
Providence third-year coach Anthony Cosby said the Pioneers looked to set up a three-point shot, but to no avail.
“We wanted to get a three-point shot, but that moment was the punctuation of our team,” Cosby said. “It’s a lack of focus and concentration and we didn’t get physical or play with a lot of energy.
“We want to win. We have to be committed and play the way we practice.”
The Bears got 13 first-half points from Kardosh to close to within 34-32 at halftime before they recorded 22 third-quarter points to build a seemingly comfortable 54-45 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Kardosh completed a three-point play to give Burroughs a 51-45 lead with 45,2 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“We moved the ball around and trusted each other [in the third quarter],” said Kardosh, who had three steals. “We had to play our game and to stay ahead. It feels good to get the win. A lot of the players from both schools are from the same city.”
Burroughs got 13 points from Jacob Samontina and eight points and three steals from Jagger Topp. Samontina had seven second-half points.
“We’re off to a good start to the season,” said Pope, a Burbank High graduate. “There’s still so much to go to work on.”
The Pioneers, who won the Prep League championship last season, received 16 points and nine rebounds from Julian Thompkins, 15 points from Jalen Thomas, 13 points from Riley Murphy and 12 points from Huang.
