Phoenix battle for big road win at Coahulla Creek
Sonoraville stays unbeaten with 57-54 victory over talented Colts
-- The Sonoraville Phoenix received their toughest test to this point in the season on Tuesday night, and despite some adversity in the fourth quarter, they passed it to remain unbeaten.
The Phoenix built as much as a 10-point lead twice in the second half at Coahulla Creek in their Region 6-AAA crossover matchup, but the Colts fought back to within three late in the fourth quarter. However, Sonoraville made enough plays in the closing seconds, including a steal on an inbound pass by Tavian Reynolds and a defensive rebound by Wil Walraven to secure the 57-54 victory.
“Our kids battled and competed,” said Sonoraville coach Brent Mashburn. “I thought we did on their No. 20 (Tyler Phillips). He’s a really good basketball player. That was a focus of ours coming in, and I thought we really worked hard to limit his looks and touches. We made a few plays down the stretch...the steal on the inbound, an offensive rebound and putback there with about a minute and a half left. It kind of helped us recover from some of our mistakes. It was nice to make those plays and have a little bit of a cushion there..
“I know that we’ll fight and battle. We’re 6-0. We’ve played well at times, but we’ve had long stretches in every game where we haven’t been very good. But they’ll battle every trip. If we keep that up, we’ll have a chance most nights.”
Sonoraville (6-0, 4-0 Region 6-AAA) took a 29-26 lead at the half and turned it into a 51-41 lead going to the fourth quarter as they played well in the third, outscoring the Colts 22-15 in the period. Walraven had 12 of his game-high 24 points in the third as he took control of the game with his scoring and aggression.
Coahulla Creek (6-4, 2-2) wouldn’t go down without a battle, however as they put together a 7-0 run late in the game to pull within three after Sonoraville led 57-47. The Colts had the ball coming out of a timeout with about 10 seconds to play, and Reynolds got the deflection and steal on the inbound. After Sonoraville turned the ball over on an ensuing inbound, Walraven came up with a defensive rebound on a long Coahulla Creek shot to secure the victory.
Along with Walraven’s big night, Bryce Waters made his presence felt with 16 points, 12 coming in the first half to set the tone for the game. Brad Wilson added 12 with his points coming on four made 3-pointers.
Mashburn said Walraven is a crucial part of his team’s success with his skill set, experience and poise.
“(Wil) is a kid that whoever we’re playing has to account for,” said Mashburn. “He knows how to finish a game. I’m blessed that he’s a junior, but he might as well be fifthyear senior. He’s been on the floor so much that he knows and understands those situations. He doesn’t panic and plays under control. He does a lot of things to help us win games.”
Phillips led Coahulla Creek with 22 points and hit a big 3-pointer late in the game during his team’s final run, but he was also limited somewhat by the aggressive defense by Sonoraville’s Trent Daniel and others who were in his hip pocket for the majority of the night. Maddox Adams was the second Colts’ scorer in double figures with 13, and Trent Collins added nine.
The game went back-andforth in the first quarter with neither team holding more than a three-point lead during the period, but Sonoraville led 17-15 at the end of it. The second quarter was much of the same with runs by each team before the Phoenix went to the half with the 29-26 advan- tage.
Mashburn said at this point early in the season, he doesn’t know what Tuesday’s win will mean, but it’s nice to add another one in that column.
“Who knows,” said Mashburn. “It’s always good to win. Who knows how good we are? Who knows how good everyone else is? You try to look at scores and see, but it’s great for our confidence right now. It’s great for these guys who just want to line up and play well Friday night. That’s our goal.”
The Phoenix are back on the road on Friday for another test at Ringgold at 8:30 p.m.