In a game filled with twists and turns, it was the Burroughs High boys’ basketball team which had the final answer.
Ahead at the half by six points, the Indians relied on a deep bench along with their five starters to hold off host Burbank 59-50 in a Pacific League showdown on Friday night before an overflow crowd.
Two players scored in double figures for the Indians (15-4 and 5-2 in league) as senior shooting guard Steven Hubbell had a team-best 14 points while adding six rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and junior power forward Tristen Hull contributed 11 points.
Senior point guard Ross Lee III had five points for the Indians, but helped in other ways like dishing off for five assists.
“We’re a deep team and especially when it’s Burbank-Burroughs, you know that you’re going to need depth,” Burroughs coach Adam Hochberg said.
Senior small forward Ellie Hanno had 11 points for the Bulldogs (14-7 and 4-3 in league) and junior swingman Michael Woods tacked on 11 points.
Burroughs made 20 of 52 (38.4 percent) from the field, while holding the Bulldogs to 18 of 59 (30.5 percent).
“We like to space the floor because we have shooters, but we live off our defensive energy,” Hochberg said.
The Indians were successful on nine of 12 from the free-throw line while Burbank canned six of 16.
A tight first quarter fell in favor of the Indians 13-11 as junior wing Justin Henderson (six points) had a dunk and a three-pointer as Burroughs made five of 13 from the field.
When Hubbell drained a trey with 56 seconds left on the clock, the Indians marched in front 13-5 which forced Burbank to call for a time out.
The Bulldogs drilled four of 14 from the field in the stanza with Hanno splashing in a trey and Woods tossing in a hoop.
The Indians outscored the Bulldogs 17-13 in the second quarter as they made three of their seven from three-point range.
Hubbell then hammered two three-pointers in the second quarter with one coming at 4:24 that gave the Indians a 27-17 lead as Burbank asked for another time out.
Junior wing Elijah Cain (six points) drilled the first of his two three-pointers in the quarter for the Indians.
Hull contributed five points in the frame including a slam dunk with 2:50 left that made it 29-17.
“We feed off the crowd,” said Hull, who picked up 10 rebounds. “We definitely feed off the positive energy and block out the negative energy.”
The Indians scored 15 points in the third quarter after making six of 17 with Hull dropping in five points while senior point guard Eric Allen had five of seven points.
Allen’s trey with 2:17 left in the third quarter pushed the Indians’ lead to 42-31 and again the Bulldogs asked for time.
Burbank hit three of 14 shots in the third quarter, but then drilled five of 12 in the fourth quarter as Hanno made two treys and Woods one.
The Indians made only three of 10 from the field in the fourth quarter, but did find the range on eight of 11 free throws with senior power forward Angelo Solis, who had 12 rebounds with five blocks and eight points, banging in four.
The Indians host Crescenta Valley on Tuesday with a 5 p.m. start while the Bulldogs travel to Muir with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
