Phelan lights up Elsie for 27

Dragons lead from start to finish|

Riley Phelan pumped in 27 points and Jack Boydell added 20 Saturday as the Sonoma Valley High Dragon cagers beat Elsie Allen, 75-63.

The pair combined for Sonoma’s first 13 points as the Dragons, who never trailed in the game, took a 13-9 lead midway through the first quarter.

“The kids earned that win,” said Dragon Coach Mike Boles. “They didn’t let up. This was well deserved, well earned.”

The Dragons led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter, and stretched the lead 27-14 at the 5:42 mark of the second quarter when Boydell hit a basket and a free throw.

Sonoma ran the margin to 18 points with three minutes left in the half when Phelan hit a three from outside, and the Dragons coasted to a 38-25 halftime lead.

Midway through the third quarter, the Lobos managed to trim the Dragon lead to nine before Tyler Garrett hit three free throws, and Boydell and Max Gustafson hit buckets to give Sonoma a 52-35 lead.

Elsie used a 9-0 run late in the quarter but the Dragons had a comfortable 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Lobos used an 8-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to again cut the margin to nine, but a pair of free throws by Dylan Samaniego, a pair by Garrett and buckets by Kahlil Villias Martinis and Phelan pushed the margin back to 17.

“I’m very proud of them,” Boles said. “Things haven’t always gone our way, but they haven’t let up.”

He had high marks for his team.

“Riley (Phelan) is only a sophomore and he does everything right,” Boles said. “Jack (Boydell) is solid. Teams are paying extra attention to Jack.”

He praised the defensive intensity that Villias Martinis is showing after being out three weeks with an ankle sprain. “Kahlil is relentless on defense,” he said. “He works hard and does whatever is necessary to be successful.”

In addition to Phelan’s 27 and Boydell’s 20, Tyler Garrett had a dozen.

“Tyler does it all,” Boles said. “He’s become such a leader … he wants to win.”

Gustafson had six points, Samaniego and Villias Martinis had four and Justin Cox had a pair.

Thursday, the Dragons dropped a 53-39 decision at Healdsburg to open the SCL season. Phelan had a dozen points but he was the only Dragon to reach double figures. Tyler Garrett had seven, Gustafson had six, Villias Martinis had four, while Boydell, Cox, Trent Garrett and Luke Sendaydiego each had two.

The Dragons have a 6-9 overall record and a 1-1 SCL mark.

Sonoma has a bye Tuesday, travels to Petaluma on Thursday and hosts Analy on Saturday.

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