THE PREPS : Freeway League Basketball : Sunny Hills Goes Inside to Turn Troy Out and Win Title

Before Friday night’s game, Steve White, Sunny Hills High School’s basketball coach, was still worrying about his team’s 70-59 loss to Fullerton on Wednesday.

“In our game against Fullerton, we didn’t play our game, and if that happens tonight, we’re going to have some problems,� he said.

White needn’t have worried.

The Lancers did play their game Friday, a style of power basketball that overwhelmed Troy, 74-50, at Sunny Hills.

The victory, combined with Fullerton’s 83-69 loss to Buena Park, gives Sunny Hills the Freeway League championship. The Lancers (20-3 overall, 8-2 in league) will be the No. 1 seeded team in the league tournament and will receive a bye in the first round.

The tournament, which will determine the league’s three representatives for the Southern Section 3-A playoffs, will begin Monday.

Sunny Hills, which lost to Troy earlier in the season, took control of Friday’s game midway through the second quarter with a 15-5 run. The Lancers scored eight of those points on offensive rebounds and led at halftime, 37-23.

“We are most effective when we get into the paint,� White said. “In the games we’ve lost this year, we haven’t played well inside. We wanted to take Troy inside.�

Sunny Hills outrebounded Troy, 43-21, and usually limited the Warriors to just one shot per possession. The Lancers had three players with 10 or more rebounds, Brian McCloskey (12), Chris Drakos (11) and Damir Hlebec (10).

“We have to rebound well to win,� Troy Coach Ed Graham said. “We didn’t do that tonight and that was the difference right there.�

Hlebec started the 15-5 run with a layup on a offensive rebound, which gave Sunny Hills a 24-18 lead. McCloskey, who finished with 20 points, scored four points during the run, including a slam dunk on another offensive rebound.

David Chisum, who scored 16 points, finished the half with a layup at the buzzer.

Sunny Hills’ pressure defense denied Troy’s offense position inside. The Warriors (13-7, 7-3) tried to keep pace with outside shooting, but made just 19 of 50 shots.

Troy got as close as seven points with a minute left in the third quarter on a jump shot by Tim Morris. But Drakos and Jon Beuerlein , who scored 10 points, made consecutive baskets to give Sunny Hills a 48-37 lead after three quarters. The Lancers then outscored the Warriors, 26-13, in the final quarter.

Mike Hanna scored 15 points for Troy.

Buena Park 83, Fullerton 69--Buena Park denied Fullerton a share of the league title with a victory at home. Gary Hunter scored 32 points, 22 in the first half, to lead Buena Park (10-9, 4-6), Kevin Graddy added 24 points for the Coyotes. Buena Park dominated the inside, outrebounding Fullerton, 46-27, including 26 offensive rebounds. Greg Wilber scored 20 points and Alan Lewis 13 for Fullerton (13-8, 7-3). The Indians will be the No. 2 seeded team in the league tournament and will receive a bye in the first round.

Sonora 63, La Habra 41--Grayle Humphrey scored 27 points to lead Sonora at home. Humphrey, a senior guard, scored 13 points in the third quarter as Sonora (8-12, 4-6) outscored La Habra 18-11. Humphrey and guard Scott St. Clair each had 10 rebounds. David Stevens’ 11 points led La Habra (5-16, 0-10).