No. 3 Sonora has tough time but triumphs

Sonora withstood a frenetic fourth-quarter rally by Sunny Hills before pulling away at the end to win the Freeway League opener, 55-43.

“I thought they played better than we did. We were just bigger,” Raiders coach Mike Murphy said. “They played hard; they’re scrappy, and they made it difficult on us.”

Sonora (16-1) outrebounded Sunny Hills (11-7) by a 46-32 margin, even with 6-foot-6 center Marcus Farrand in constant foul trouble.

The Lancers' only lead came early in the first quarter, but they cut Sonora's 13-point fourth-quarter lead to three with about four minutes remaining.

“They don’t quit,” Lancers coach John Woolridge said of his players. “They don’t have a choice.”

Sophomore point guard Raffi Chalian led the Raiders with 12 points, and Farrand had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Sonora's standout senior guard, Chris Bearden, had a rare off-night offensively, but he led all players with 12 rebounds, to go along with eight points.

Senior Jae Byun led Sunny Hills with 13 points.

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com