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Sonoma boys top Lobos, but fall to Prospectors

Host Healdsburg tonight; Dragon JVs edged, frosh sweep

Another struggling start that put them into a 14-2 first-quarter hole again called for a daunting comeback, which the ailing Sonoma Valley High School’s varsity basketball boys couldn’t complete and they ended up dropping a 68-46 Sonoma County League game decision to Piner Monday night in Santa Rosa.

Limping back to Santa Rosa on Wednesday minus three players sidelined with injuries and illness, including leading scorer, junior Jesse Summers, who tallied 20 points against Piner, the young Dragons almost let SCL foe Elsie Allen sneak off to an early lead.

But instead, Sonoma stepped up its energy and took control of the action, using a 7-2 run to edge in front 13-11 after the first quarter, increased its advantage to 28-19 at the break, made it a double-digit lead early in the second half, then kept the Lobos at bay en route to a satisfying 51-39 victory.

Leading the Dragons were junior Jack Murphy’s 17 points, three rebounds and two assists; senior Vince Bruton’s 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in his first game back after spraining an ankle; sophomore Alex Gustafson’s eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists; sophomore Cyle Gusse’s five points, five rebounds, three assists and one block; sophomore Ryan Wilbanks’ four points; and junior Vincent Albano’s and sophomore Trevor Welch’s two points and three rebounds each.

The Dragon boys will host longtime SCL rival Healdsburg tonight in Pfeiffer Gym, with the junior varsity starting at 6, followed by the varsity playing at 7:30 p.m.

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Sonoma’s jayvee hoops boys dropped a pair of down-to-the-wire heartbreakers in Santa Rosa, falling 33-32 to Elsie Allen after being edged 49-42 by Piner.

The Dragon jayvees were paced against Elsie by Kevin Hurtado’s 10 points and 14 rebounds; Kaden Cable’s five points and Luke Vaughn’s four; Anthony Hamiter’s four points and seven rebounds; Spencer McNairy’s four points, four assists and three rebounds; Thomas Crumly’s three points and six rebounds; and Ryan Fisher’s two points and three rebounds.

Pacing the Dragons against Piner were Cable’s 12 points and four rebounds; McNairy’s 10 points, three rebounds and two assists; Hurtado’s six points, eight rebounds and four assists; Crumly’s six points and five rebounds; Hamiter’s four points, six assists and three rebounds; Fisher’s four points and four rebounds; and Vaughn’s three points.

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Sonoma’s freshman boy cagers made it a Santa Rosa sweep, beating Piner 57-46 before defeating Elsie Allen 64-47.

Leading the frosh Dragons were Edwin Reyes’ 22 points and Max Yankovich’s 14 against Piner, and Reyes’ standout 33-point effort versus Elsie Allen.