Bruins Make a Push, but Sonora Pushes Back

Wilson High made a strong second quarter push, but it wasn't enough to hold off Sonora High in a 64-54 loss to the Raiders on Tuesday in pool play at the North Orange County Championships.

Trailing by six points early in the second quarter, the Bruins went on a 15-2 run to grab control of the game. Senior forward Zack Reince started the Wilson run out of a timeout with a basket off an assist by senior guard Ryan Small. Reince then added two free throws to cut the Sonora lead to 26-24. The Bruins came up with a steal, but the Raiders stole it right back at mid-court and scored on a basket by senior guard David Salazar to make it 28-24 Sonora.

But the Bruins found a hot hand in senior guard Justin Snagg. Snagg hit a baseline 3-pointer to cut the lead to 28-27. After a jump shot by junior guard Ian Thomas gave the Bruins a lead, Snagg hit another 3-pointer to push it to 32-28. Senior guard Jared Grimes drove the lane and then kicked the ball out to Snagg, who had an open look.

Sonora finally stopped the run with a basket by senior forward Christian Rico, but the Bruins hit right back with a jump shot in the key by senior guard Jarone Nelson to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.

Nelson and Reince led the Bruins with 12 points each, while Snagg had 11. But things came apart for the Bruins in the second half.

"We had a difficult time there, offensively, in the third quarter," Coach Matt Michelson said.

Nelson opened the third quarter with a jump shot to push the lead to 39-30, but Sonora's senior guard Raffi Chalian hit a 3-pointer to start a Raider 15-2 run of their own.

Reince scored after a drive and dish by Grimes, but the Raiders would answer with 12 consecutive points. Chalian led the way with two free throws and then was fouled on a 3-point shot at the end of the third quarter. He converted the four-point play to push the Raiders lead to 45-41.

Michelson said his young team is still learning how to respond in pressure situations, but the Bruins are making strides against strong competition. Sonora (7-1) is ranked ninth in this week's Orange County Register poll.

"We're getting better each game. I'm real proud of our first half effort and we'll be back, we've got a great bunch of guys," Michelson said.

The Bruins did tie the score at 45 early in the fourth quarter on a Snagg drive and left-handed layup, followed by a rebound and coast-to-coast drive and score by Brandon Williams. But Sonora would slowly pull away from there. The Bruins (3-2) will likely be the second place representative out of their pool, pending the outcome of a game betweeb Sonora and Norwalk on Wednesday.

Wilson defeated Norwalk 64-46 in their tournament opener on Monday. The Bruins will begin bracket play on Thursday.