No. 2 Sonora Finally Puts Away Pesky Santiago

Sonora Coach Mike Murphy would love to do something about the boys’ basketball polls that have the Raiders ranked second in the county.

Mainly, take his team out of them.

The unbeaten Raiders had to survive a sluggish start and an early scare from scrappy Santiago before subduing the Cavaliers, 60-43, in first-round play at the Century Holiday Classic.

Santigo (3-5) broke to an 8-0 lead, and trailed by only two, 29-27, at the half, but Sonora, (10-0) a more experienced team, took control of the game late in the third quarter.

Not that any of that made Murphy happy.

“We shouldn’t be No. 52 in the county,” said Murphy, who yanked his starting five midway through the first quarter. “It’s typical of this team; this year we have played to the level of the competition. We can be as good and as bad as anybody.

“But give Santiago credit. They spread the floor on us, made some nice cuts to the basket and were more efficient in running their offense.”

First-year Santiago Coach Mike DaDeppo agreed.

“I was tickled we were only down two at the half because Sonora is an excellent, well-coached team,” DaDeppo said. “I think we got tired in the second half because we played our butts off. But I also hope the kids saw tonight what they are capable of, and have that intensity level against everyone.”

The Cavaliers certainly had spunk and energy. At 5 feet 10, guard Aris Lindo (12 points) had no qualms about going up against the taller Raiders and was able to get his shots off. Forward Jose Lizarraras, who led Santiago with 13 points and five rebounds, had little trouble working free inside and getting easy shots.

In the end, though, the Cavaliers did not have an answer for Sonora forward Josh Lein, who led all scorers with 17 points and had 10 rebounds. Teammate Jimmy Landry had 14 points.

Lein, who had only one basket in the first half, sparked a 14-4 run in the third quarter that broke a 31-31 tie and gave Sonora the lead for good.

Sonora’s lead eventually stretched to 59-39 before the Raiders settled for the final margin.

In other games:

Calvary Chapel 79, Villa Park JV 49--Joe Ortiz scored 19 points and teammate Garid Beeler added 17 for Calvary Chapel.

Century 64, North Hollywood Campbell Hall 43--Ricky Lopez scored a game-high 21 points and Terrail Zoller added 16 for host Century (6-5).

Sunny Hills 46, Los Amigos 34--Bim Okunrinboye led all scorers with 20 points for Sunny Hills. Los Amigos was led by Michael Wahl with 12.

Cypress 60, Laguna Beach 33--Travis Weaver scored 14 points and Wes Bun had 13 for Century, which outscored Laguna Beach by 18 in the second half.

Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World 60, Brethren Christian 47--Justin Miller scored 15 points and Jacob Brown had 13 for Brethren Christian, which trailed, 35-19, at the half.