Burbank Crowded Out by Hart in 61-49 Loss

BURBANK — It was so quiet inside the Burbank High gymnasium Tuesday night that the Hart High boys’ basketball team must have thought it was another practice.

And the drill was free throws.

One by one, the Indians marched to the line and made their shots. They made 78% of their free throws en route to a 61-49 win over Burbank in a Foothill League game.

The Bulldogs had to be discouraged when they took their home court, which is usually packed for games against rivals such as Hart and the decibel level can be ear-splitting--especially for visiting players at the free-throw line.

Instead, there were more Hart fans on hand while most of Burbank’s students were at home studying for finals.

Hart (15-5, 4-0 in league play) made 18 of 23 free throws, including 11 of 13 in the final three minutes after Burbank reduced what was a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to 48-46.

Instead, it was the Bulldogs (10-8, 2-2) who looked discouraged and distracted, making only 37% of their shots and only four of 13 free throws.

“Crowd? What crowd?” Burbank Coach Ron Quarterman said. “We shouldn’t have played this game.”

But Burbank threatened to win.

However, after Steve Silveria managed to make two free throws with 4:24 remaining, Hart stalled and forced the Bulldogs to foul.

While Burbank was making just five of 15 shots in the final quarter, the Indians were stringing together free throws.

Hart’s J.T. Stotts, who had 19 points, made all six of his free throws and clinched the victory with 57 seconds left by blocking Silveria’s three-point shot and drawing a foul after getting the deflection.

“Just did my job,” Stotts said. “We made a lot of hustle plays down the stretch. We just wanted the game more.”

Cory Johnson had 15 points and nine rebounds for Hart, and Mark Halverson had 12 points and eight rebounds before he fouled out.

Burbank, which has been plagued by cold starts of late, saw a 7-2 lead dissolve quickly.

With leading scorer Juni Williams scoring only two of his 13 points in the first half, the Bulldogs trailed, 31-20, at halftime before sophomore Eric Rohwer gave them a spark in the third quarter.

Rohwer, a 6-foot-7 center, collected 16 points and seven rebounds, including eight points and five rebounds in the third quarter.