FREEWAY LEAGUE ROUNDUP : St. Clair and Sonora Cash In at the Line

Sonora and junior point guard Chris St. Clair made a statement in the Freeway League race with a 53-51 victory over Buena Park Friday night at Buena Park High School.

St. Clair scored 28 points, including 15 of 17 free throws, to lead the Raiders (12-7, 3-1 in league) into a first-place tie with Troy and Buena Park (14-4, 3-1).

“I keep telling everybody that he (St. Clair) is one of the best players in Orange County,” Sonora Coach Mike Murphy said. “He’s only a junior, and he’s going to get nothing but better.”

St. Clair scored 12 of his 28 points and made all three of his three-point shots in the third quarter to give the Raiders a 42-37 lead going into the fourth.

Led by the shooting of Angel Barrios and Alex Tolentino, the Coyotes rallied in the fourth quarter and led, 48-47, on Brian Baylor’s free throw with 2 minutes 52 seconds remaining.

But St. Clair put the brakes on Buena Park’s hopes, recovering the lead with a pair of free throws with 2:35 remaining, making a driving basket to make it 51-48 at 1:21 and then hitting both ends of a one-and-one free-throw situation for a 53-48 Raider lead with 32 seconds left.

Buena Park’s Joe Clarkson hit a three-point basket with eight seconds left and the Coyotes had a chance to win when they recovered a loose ball, but Charles White’s last-second desperation shot from 35 feet was wide by a foot.

James Cannaday added 14 points for Sonora, and Barrios and Baylor led the Coyote scoring with 11 points apiece.

In other league games:

Troy 70, Fullerton 53--Center Jim Falletta scored 19 points and five rebounds for Troy (12-6, 3-1). Troy held Fullerton (6-12, 1-3) scoreless for 5:06 of the fourth quarter.

Sunny Hills 56, La Habra 52--Terry Mann scored 18 points for Sunny Hills (14-4, 2-2), and Scott Paden added 10.