Sonoraville boys hold Murray County to just 14 points in final two quarters to pull away
Sonoraville boys coach Brent Mashburn said after a tough loss to their county rival Gordon Central last Friday that his team was just thinking too much and playing tight. His advice to his team after that one was to just play.
What has ensued is two straight wins in which has team has played as well as they have all season. The Phoenix followed up a win over Coahulla Creek on Saturday with a 56-34 victory over Murray County on Tuesday in which they dominated the second half thanks in large part to their defense.
Sonoraville ( 3- 5, 23) led 23-20 at the half but took control in the third quarter starting on an 8-0 run and outscored the Indians 18-9 in the period. They then took it up another notch in the fourth quarter, allowing just five points to Murray County and closing out the game with a 12-4 run.
Sonoraville coach Brent Mashburn said his team had a lot of energy on both ends of the court coming out of the locker room at the half.
“We came out and knocked down some shots and fed off that energy by pressuring the ball on defense,” said Mashburn. “We knew we could pressure the ball out front because Clark (Johnson) was protecting the basket on the back end. Turning defense into offense helped us get that lead and keep it in the second half.”
Dylan Dixon led the Phoenix with 17 points, including scoring the first 10 for his team in the third quarter. Bryce Waters also had a solid game, chipping in 13 in the winning effort, and Austin Carter added six.
Johnson was big on the defensive end, discouraging the Indians from coming inside the paint as he tallied eight blocks and affected several more shots.
Mashburn was able to keep his players fresh throughout the game as everyone on the roster got crucial minutes. He said having a group with a lot of interchangeable parts helps keep a consistent energy level on the court.
“I feel like we’ve got a group where there’s not a lot of separation from top to bottom,” said Mashburn. “It wouldn’t surprise me if any number of guys lead us in scoring on a given night. We can run a lot of kids out there early in the game and then eventually settle on a group of about six or seven down the stretch.”
Murray County (1-8, 1-5) was led by Jordan Jackson with 16 points, including hitting five 3- pointers. No other Indians player had more than five.
The first half of Tuesday’s game was competitive both ways as Sonoraville would build a small lead before Murray County would battle back to within a possession. Overall, Mashburn said he was pleased with not only how his team came out and responded against Coahulla Creek on Saturday but how they had a similarly consistent effort against Murray County.
“We were 0-3 in the region and sitting at 15 overall after the loss to Gordon Central so we weren’t in a good place,” said Mashburn. “But it showed the makeup of this team to go up to Coahulla Creek and take care of business. I wanted to see how we backed that up tonight, and the answer was what I was hoping for. Every win is a good win.”
The Phoenix close out the pre- holiday break portion of the region schedule at 2-3 as they now head into the North Murray Mistletoe Madness Tournament, which they begin play in on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Northwest Whitfield.
Mashburn said the goal in the tournament and over the break is to continue on the same trajectory they’ve shown in the last two games.