LA HABRA – Sonora has seen its share of Freeway League contenders over the years: the Troys, the Sunny Hillses, the La Habras of the Mike Murphy era.
And yet three of the past four seasons, including the past two, the program has secured the league championship.
No. 4 Sonora got its first look Friday at a new challenger, defeating a young, upstart Buena Park troupe, 84-70, at Sonora High.
“We knew they were athletic and fast,” Murphy said. “And what they do best is rebound. They’re a great rebounding team. Five guys go get the ball, and that’s hard to stop. … The ball always seemed to bounce to them, but they play so hard that they make sure that happens.”
Sonora (17-3, 4-0) shot poorly in the first half, missing open looks from everywhere. While Josh Rodriguez struggled mightily from the floor, Ben Rico’s 14 points kept the Raiders afloat.
Buena Park (15-5, 2-2) pulled even at 24 midway through the second quarter, and even took the lead on separate occasions. Sonora then closed the half on a 9-4 run, punctuated by consecutive Christian Rhodes baskets.
“They wanted to speed us up,” Rodriguez said. “ … We’re at our best when we’re making shots, getting stops.”
Rodriguez caught fire in the third quarter, when he scored 11 of his 28 points. But Buena Park stuck around. It wasn’t until early in the fourth, and 10 more Rodriguez points, that Sonora pulled away.
“Josh isn’t going to miss shots for a very long time,” said Murphy, who later called Rodriguez the most gifted scorer he’s coached in 20 years. “(Buena Park was) on borrowed time. He was going to start making those shots sooner or later.”
Buena Park, which regularly starts five underclassmen, finished with 23 turnovers and missed put-backs galore. Still, it hung with the class of the Freeway League in a hostile environment, and Deonte Beckham finished with 28 points.
“They play well as a team,” Murphy said of Buena Park. “They’re like us three years ago, starting sophomores. We’re two years older. We’ve been playing together for three years now. They’ll be like us in a couple years, and we’ll be trying to figure out how to stop them.”
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
