FREEWAY LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Sunny Hills Ends 6-Year Slump With 85-80 Victory at Fullerton

Seldom has such a sloppy game produced as much excitement as Sunny Hills High School’s 85-80 Freeway League victory over host Fullerton Friday night.

Sunny Hills’ first victory in Fullerton’s gymnasium in six years had the cheerleaders turning flips and the fans spilling out of the bleachers in the steamy gym that Fullerton calls home.

Guard Kenny Overby’s two free throws with eight seconds remaining finally sealed Sunny Hills’ victory in one of the toughest gyms for visiting teams in Orange County.

Earlier in the week, Fullerton Coach Chris Burton put the importance of the game into perspective.

“The league is pretty bad,” Burton said, “and if we don’t beat Sunny Hills at our place, they’ll probably go 10-0 in league. I can’t see anybody matching up to their height.”

Judging by Friday night’s game, Burton’s evaluation of the league is pretty accurate. There wasn’t a team with a winning record when league play began Wednesday.

Fullerton and Sunny Hills were touted as the best of the six-team league, but Sunny Hills proved to be vulnerable to a press and Fullerton couldn’t shoot consistently.

Sunny Hills (4-10, 2-0) committed 26 turnovers and faltered in the final quarter when its best ballhandler, guard Dominic Carnesi, fouled out.

Fullerton (4-11, 1-1) made only 26 of 72 shots, but it managed to stay close by making 11 three-point shots. Guard Rene Arias made two consecutive three-pointers and teammate Ladd Brunner added a follow shot with 1:26 remaining to play to cut Sunny Hills’ lead to 78-74, but it was the closest the Indians could get.

Fullerton trailed, 10-1, in the opening two minutes. But the Indians regained the lead, 18-17, with the aid of three three-point shots in the quarter.

But Sunny Hills regained control behind the play of forward David Ragsdale and maintained the lead for the remainder of the game. Ragsdale finished with 32 points, surpassing his career high of 22 points.

Ragsdale was the only fluid player in a very physical game, making 12 of 17 shots and eight of 17 free-throw attempts. Teammate Terry Mann, a promising sophomore, added 11 points and 18 rebounds.

La Habra 62, Sonora 54--Forward James Clegg scored 21 points and center Mark Zehrung added 19 points and 12 rebounds for La Habra (5-11, 1-1). Sonora (5-11, 0-2) was led by Greg Farlow’s 16 points. La Habra took a 44-40 lead into the fourth quarter, and made 12 of 19 free throws in an 18-point fourth quarter.

Buena Park 55, Troy 42--Donyell Collins had 22 points to lead Buena Park (7-8, 2-0). Mike Abbott had 14 points and Eldon Davis added 12 points for Troy (5-9, 0-2).