ANAHEIM – It looked like something good could be developing for Sonora.
When the Raiders’ Ben Rico made two free throws with 5:48 left in the game, Sonora trailed Calabasas by three points, the closest margin since the second quarter.
Sonora then got as cold as the ice under the court at Honda Center. The Raiders missed 14 shots in a row in the fourth quarter and lost to Calabasas, 66-47, on Saturday in the CIF-SS Division 2A championship game.
Sonora’s season might not be over. The Raiders (28-4) could be selected to play in the CIF Southern California Regionals, the qualifying tournament for the CIF State Championships. Selected teams will be announced today.
That 0-for-14 spell was part of a larger shooting frustration for Sonora, which had its winning streak stopped at 17 games. The Raiders made just 16 of 56 shots for 29 percent. They were 4 for 22 on 3-point shots.
Sonora coach Mike Murphy said much of the shooting struggles were caused by Calabasas (27-5). He said the Coyotes were the best defensive team Sonora had played “in a couple of years.”
“They really defend, they’re physical and strong and they know how to play,” Murphy said. “I though we were hurting them early with our drive-and-kick offense, when we were getting some good looks at the basket there.”
The Raiders scored on their first possession that way. Point guard Josh Rodriguez drove the lane, passed the ball out to Rico who made an open 3-point shot. Sonora’s next two shots were good, too, as Adam Marlow and Steven Murphy scored. Sonora had an early lead, 7-6.
Calabasas then got going. The Coyotes scored 12 of the first quarter’s final 12 points and they took a 20-12 lead into the second quarter.
After missing his first four shots, Rodriguez finally scored on a layup that cut the Calabasas lead to 24-22. That was as close as the Raiders would get the rest of the way.
Sonora missed its first five shots of the third quarter. By the time they scored on a Rodriguez drive, it was 37-28 in favor of Calabasas.
The Coyotes took a 42-35 lead into the fourth quarter. Rico led a brief Raiders run, making a fallaway, baseline jumper and, with 5:49 to go, added two free throws to slice the Calabasas lead to 44-41.
Calabasas went on a 15-2 run there to win its 17th in a row.
Rodriguez led Sonora with 14 points, but he made just 4 of 15 shots and committed five turnovers.
Rodriguez was pretty much the center of Calabasas’ defensive attention, but being the point guard he is used to that. Calabasas, though, attacked him with a group of larger players than Rodriguez normally sees.
“They would have three guys around me,” he said, “and they were all big.”
Rico scored 12 and also was 4 for 15 from the floor. He was 2 for 10 on 3-point shots. Rico had a game-high 10 rebounds,
It was Sonora’s first CIF-SS boys basketball finals appearance since 1984. Sonora won section basketball championships in 1971 and ’83.
If chosen for the regionals, Sonora would play in Division 2. Eight Southern Section teams will be placed in the Division 2 Regionals.
Some of those eight teams could be teams that played in the Open Division during the section playoffs. There is an Open Division in the state tournament.
Calabasas qualifies for the state tournament with its section championship.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
