LA HABRA—As Sonora Head Coach Mike Murphy took pictures with his son, senior guard Sean Murphy, the crowd erupted into the chant, “Daddy’s boy! Daddy’s boy! Daddy’s Boy!” The Murphy’s, however, did not mind it at all, as the Raiders (26-3, 9-1) defeated Fullerton (7-18, 1-9) 77-48 to give Mike Murphy his 600th career win.
The 600-win milestone comes in Murphy’s 27th season as the Raider’s head coach. After the game, Sonora students greeted Murphy at midcourt with a banner saying, “Congrats Coach Murphy on win 600!”
Murphy’s historic win comes after an already historic season for Sonora, who are ranked 30th in the state according to MaxPreps. The Raiders had clinched their fifth straight Freeway League Championship after defeating Sunny Hills last week in overtime. Fullerton came into this game after losing their final home game of the regular season against La Habra.
Sonora’s senior guard Kevin Marlow led the game in scoring with 24 points, while Stone Sinek led Fullerton in scoring with 15 points. Sonora was able to score from behind the arc as well, as they shot 41 percent (10-for-24) behind the 3-point line, while Fullerton’s 3-point percentage was 19 percent (4-for-21).
Sonora began the game on an offensive tear, as they opened the game on a 14-2 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers by Sean Murphy and Kevin Marlow. Fullerton was able to get their scoring going at the end of the quarter, and at end of one, trailed 26-15.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair between both teams. Each team traded baskets, but Marlow hit a 3-pointer right before the buzzer sounded at the end of the quarter to give the quarter edge to Sonora, as they led 43-29 at halftime.
With senior Travis Bush (12 points) leading the way, Fullerton tried to gain some ground on the Raiders, but as the Indians scored, Sonora was able to respond. Senior center Austin Carter scored 7 of his 21 points in the third quarter for the Raiders. Sonora was able to pull away from Fullerton after three quarters of play, as they had a 61-43 lead with the final 8 minutes left to play.
Fullerton’s offense was not able to get going in the final quarter, as they managed to score only 5 points. It was a steal that by Carter that made the Sonora student section cheer, and Carter ended the play with a slam-dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Sonora crowd only got louder after each Raider basket, including buckets from seniors Tony Bishay and Cameron McGarry.
The crowd continued to cheer all the way through the buzzer and Murphy’s celebration, as they joined the basketball team in singing the school’s alma mater.
With the regular season over, Fullerton’s season comes to an end after not making it into playoff consideration. Sonora will prepare for the Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs, which will include crossing paths with the No. 1 team in the nation according to MaxPreps, Chino Hills, as well third-ranked Mater Dei.