Freeway League : Troy Knows How to Win Away From Home

To win a league championship it helps to win on the road. The Troy High School basketball team understands this simple fact, and outhustled Fullerton, 58-46, at Fullerton Wednesday night.

Troy (7-0, 13-7) has a 14-2 road record over the past two seasons. Fullerton (3-4, 12-9) plays well at home, compiling a 15-4 record. But not Wednesday.

Warrior Coach Mike Williams knew it would be tough to play at Fullerton.

“We were mentally prepared to play here and it’s a great neighborhood rivalry,” he said. “The intensity level of our team was high all week. We were ready to play here tonight.”

The Warriors held the Indians to 23 first-half points. Ralph Tallant, Fullerton’s leading scorer, was held to 4 points after averaging 16.

Defensively the Warriors were ready, staying a step ahead of Fullerton all night long. They outrebounded Fullerton 29-20 and kept the Indians out of their offense.

Junior guard Mark Rudometkin was the leading scorer with 17 points and a game-high 6 rebounds. Senior forward Rob Burrer had 14 points. Fullerton’s leading scorer was Kirk Lentz with 10 points.

Troy, which had a 17-point lead late in the first half, put the game away with 7:03 remaining in the game. Guard Jeff Ferren hit a streaking Mike Picciotta with a perfect over-the-shoulder pass for a layup, making the score 47-32.

Williams added: “This win sets us up for what we’ve been working toward all year--a chance to win the Freeway League championship by beating Buena Park Friday.”

TROY (58)--Ferren 4, Goodwin 6, Rudometkin 17, Shirley 7, Burrer 14, Greer 4, Picciotta 4, Gerien 2.

FULLERTON (46)--Tallant 4, Zerga 9, Perez 6, Hetland 6, Lentz 10, Lewis 7, Harrill 2, Massey 2.

Buena Park 53, Sunny Hills 37--The Coyotes stayed one game out of first place with this win at Buena Park. Orlando Robins scored 13 points and Tony Toscano added 11 to lead the Coyotes. Rob Carpenter scored 12 points for the Lancers. Buena Park raised its record to 5-1 and 9-9. Sunny Hills fell to 2-5 and 4-13.

SUNNY HILLS (37)--Carpenter 12, Chishum 3, Brakos 8, Pearson 6, Spurlock 2, Moore 6.

BUENA PARK (53)--Glahn 4, Riley 8, Toscano 11, Smith 10, Hunter 7, Robins 13.

Sonora 54, La Habra 50 (3 OT)--The Raiders outscored the Highlanders, 4-0, in the third overtime to win at La Habra. Mike Euins scored 9 points for the Raiders. Tony Sciacca scored 26 for La Habra. Sonora’s record is 2-5 and 4-13. La Habra is 1-6, 1-16.