Walraven leads offensive outburst in opener
Senior ties school record with 43 in Phoenix home win
It usually takes a team a few games to truly figure themselves out or find a good rhythm offensively at the start of a new season. The Sonoraville Phoenix and senior Wil Walraven bucked that trend on Monday night.
The Phoenix filled up the net in their season opener against Model, and Walraven was front and center in that effort to help his team earn a hard-fought 93-88 victory in the opener of the Sonoraville High Thanksgiving Classic. The point total was a school record for Sonoraville (1-0), and Walraven tied a school record for single-game points. (The program’s all-time leading scorer Justin Zachary was the other Phoenix to accomplish the feat.)
Even with the high output on the offensive end, Model didn’t make it easy on Sonoraville as the visitors had a great night offensively as well, forcing the Phoenix to make crucial plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter to hold on for the victory. Sonoraville led 70-62 going to the fourth, but the Blue Devils (0-1) kept battling and even took a one-point lead at 82-81 on a 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the game to cap off a 10-4 run.
But Sonoraville came up with clutch plays when it needed to, including a couple big offensive rebounds and buckets by Lucas Brooks and three free throws and a score from Walraven to finish the game off and seal the victory on their home court.
“Early on in the season, it’s good to be in situations like that, and it’s even better to come out on the positive side of it,” said Sonoraville coach Brent Mashburn. “It’s hard to simulate that in practice, playing with a little stress and pressure. We did some good things down the stretch in that spot, and that’s encouraging as a coach.”
Walraven was electric all night for the Phoenix in his school-record tying performance. He started the game strong with nine points in the opening quarter but really caught fire in the second, scoring 20 of Sonoraville’s 26 points in the period, which included a trio of 3s, several impressive drives to the bucket and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He got going again in the third quarter with nine more points, including a pair of 3s, and finished things off with five points in the fourth.
Mashburn said Walraven, who went over the 1,000-point mark as a junior last season, has a natural ability to score in different ways and is impressive to watch.
“He’s a really good player,” said Mashburn. “As a coach, you feel a sense of comfort with the ball in his hands. He really understands the game, and he’s so hard to guard, especially when he’s knocking down shots outside. When he’s got that going and with his ability to put the ball on the floor and go by people, he can have some big nights.”
Sonoraville led 19-16 after the first quarter, and then, with the help of Walraven’s big surge in the second, took a 45-37 lead into the locker room. Model fought back to tie it at 48-48 in the third, but Sonoraville answered with a run to take a 10-point lead 65-55 before going into the fourth with the eight-point advantage.