In a Freeway League matchup between two teams ranked in the OC Boys Top 25 Coaches Poll, #11 Sonora came out fast and finished strong to pull away in the from #25 Troy, improving to 3-0 in league with their 61-54 win on Tuesday. Sonora, ranked #7 in CIF Division 2A, entered last night’s contest with a record of 16-4. Troy is currently ranked #9 in Division 4AA after defeating #17 La Habra last week to improve to 14-5.

Junior Troy Jenkins scored 10 1st quarter, including two 3’s, to help give Sonora a 19-10 lead heading into the 2nd. Sophomore Vander Ploog hit two 3’s to score all 10 of the Warriors 1st quarter points. Troy cut the Raiders lead to 21-17 after a strong drive by Rayaan Khan with 4:42 left in the half. Sonora took a 29-28 lead into the half and was led by Jenkins’ 13. Yoda Oke added 9 for the Raiders. Ploog finished the half with 12 for the Warriors and Rayaan Khan scored 10, all of which came in the 2nd quarter.

It was a back and forth 3rd but Yoda Oke would finish at the rim off a nice spin at the end of the quarter to give Sonora a 40-38 lead heading into the 4th. Rayaan Khan hit a contested 3 off a baseline inbounds with 6:56 left to cut Troy’s deficit to 42-41 but Sonora would take over from there and stretch their lead to 51-43 with 3:35 left after a corner 3 from Samuel Esparza. The Raiders led 59-43 late in the 4th but Troy continued to battle, finishing the game on a 11-2 run, before Sonora closed out the game to win their 11th game in a row, taking sole possession of 1st place while improving to 17-4.

Leading Scorers and Player Evaluations

Sonora

Ernest Love (19): Tough, physical guard who defends and gets to the rim and finishes in traffic. 

Troy Jenkins (18): Confident shooter with range who can score on all 3 levels and plays with great energy.

Yoda Oke (15): Long slasher who plays with good pace, gets downhill, and finishes in a variety of ways at the rim.

Troy

Vander Ploog (18): Stretch 4 who can score with his back to the basket, attack the rim off the dribble and stretch the court from 3.

Rayaan Khan (15): Powerful lefty with a quick release from 3. Strong finisher at the rim.