FREEWAY LEAGUE BASKETBALL : Clark’s Skills Put Sonora Over the Top

Craig Clark, Sonora’s big-lug-of-a-center, lumbered off the court one last time Wednesday. He didn’t trip over the sideline.

It was a fitting end for a player who could not catch a ball four years ago. But that guy doesn’t exist anymore.

Clark, a 7-foot work in progress, displayed his rapidly improving skills in a 76-50 victory over Fullerton that wrapped up the Raiders’ third consecutive Freeway League title. He scored 22 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

It was hard for even his own coach to recognize him from that tall, awkward freshman of four years ago.

“It’s amazing, absolutely amazing,” Coach Mike Murphy said. “You can’t believe how far he’s come.”

But Murphy can. He shanghaied Clark from a registration line because he was tall. Clark, who had never played basketball, fell the first time Murphy passed him the ball.

Clark wasn’t even a starter on the freshman team. This is now his third year on the varsity, his second as a starter.

“It’s really hard for me to believe how far I’ve come,” said Clark, who has signed with San Jose State. “I don’t know how I did it.”

There are many around the Freeway League who would have liked to seen a little less evolution from him.

Fullerton came in one game behind the Raiders in the league race. But the Indians never had a chance. Sonora (22-3, 9-0), ranked third in Orange County, led, 23-8, after the first quarter.

Much of that was due to Clark. He had five points and five rebounds in the first quarter, then scored the first four points to start the second quarter, giving the Raiders a 27-10 lead.

“We told Craig to get four rebounds a quarter,” Murphy said. “He can deal with that goal better than when I tell him to get 16 rebounds a game.”

Clark exceeded that requirement. He dominated inside and finished with one more rebound than the entire Fullerton team. He was overwhelming the Indians and knew it.

Late in the second quarter, Clark spun inside for a layup and was fouled. He then pumped his fist to the crowd.

“I’ve never seen him so animated,” Murphy said. “It was cruel. I don’t know when I’ll see it again.”

Said Clark: “This one was really important to me. I knew we had to play our best game. But, oh man, I don’t believe this.”

Fullerton (16-8, 6-2) pulled to within nine, 35-26, in the third quarter. But Clark scored off back-to-back offensive rebounds to start a 15-4 run. He got help from Chad Fister, who scored 19 points and kept the Indians from concentrating completely on Clark.

Fister scored nine points in the third quarter. But he was merely lending a hand. Clark was head and shoulders above everyone.

Said Murphy: “When he plays like that, it’s scary.”

In other Freeway League games:

La Habra 67, Sunny Hills 54--Dan Ploog and Corey Holbert scored 14 points each for host La Habra (11-13, 4-5).

Troy 73, Buena Park 54--Senior guard Jeff Sand scored 29 points in the victory for visiting Troy (14-11, 5-4). Teammate James Hampson added 20. Courtney Smith scored 16 for Buena Park (9-14, 1-8).