Freeway League : Sunny Hills Wins by 31 in Tuneup for Fullerton

With the preliminary now out of the way, Sunny Hills High School can concentrate on its showdown against Fullerton for the Freeway League title after a 73-42 romp over visiting La Habra Wednesday.

Sunny Hills (16-7 overall, 8-1 in league play) got into a championship mood in the fourth quarter, outscoring La Habra, 27-4, and served notice that it will be tough to beat at home Friday night against Fullerton (17-5, 9-0).

Forward Marcus Hopkins scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the last quarter, including seven points in a 30-second span that gave Sunny Hills a 59-40 lead. Teammate Walter Mitter put his own seal on the victory with a resounding dunk to give the Lancers a 66-40 lead with 1:49 remaining.

Sunny Hills made 10 of 20 shots in the last quarter, with a level of intensity that it had been lacking for three quarters.

“We have to play that way for the entire ballgame against Fullerton,” said Steve White, Sunny Hills coach. “Hustle will be the key on Friday night.”

La Habra (12-11, 5-4) went inside to take a 25-24 lead midway through the second quarter when guard John Roundy made a three-point shot.

But Sunny Hills responded with nine unanswered points to gain a 33-25 halftime lead, and the momentum carried into the second half.

The Highlanders are assured of their first playoff berth in five years, but second-year Coach Frank McCarroll wasn’t completely satisfied.

“One of our goals was to beat either Fullerton or Sunny Hills once, and we didn’t,” McCarroll said. “Our program still has a ways to go before we can compete with those guys.”