Freeway League Basketball : Fullerton Frustrates Sunny Hills for 70-59 Upset Victory

Pete Bach scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Fullerton High School to a 70-59 upset victory over Sunny Hills Wednesday night in a Freeway League boys’ basketball game before a capacity crowd of 1,200 at Fullerton High School.

With the victory, Fullerton (13-7, 7-2) moves into a first-place tie with Sunny Hills (17-3, 7-2).

“I think people have overlooked us for a while,” Fullerton Coach Randy Forgette said. “Sunny Hills has had a great season, but I felt if we could play our game, they could be beaten.”

Fullerton used a smooth, patient offense to outscore Sunny Hills, 21-12, in the first quarter. Bach, a junior, had seven points in the quarter.

Sunny Hills’ strategy appeared muddled throughout the game. Sloppy passing and mixed signals ruined several easy scoring opportunities. And the Sunny Hills scoring duo of Chris Drakos (15 points) and Brian McCloskey (11) were constantly being frustrated.

Drakos, taking matters into his own hands in the second quarter, scored six straight points to help tie the score, 25-25.

But Fullerton came back with a 7-2 run to take a 32-28 lead at halftime.

Sparked by Greg Wilber’s eight points from outside, Fullerton outscored Sunny Hills, 20-5, to take a 52-33 lead into the final quarter.

“We showed we wanted it in the third,” Forgette said. “There’s a great rivalry between these schools, and spirits run high.”

The spirits--and the frustrations--came to a boiling point early in the fourth quarter, as Drakos and Wilber started a fight that cleared both benches and led to their ejections.

Sunny Hills managed a late, but ultimately useless, last-minute spurt. With 2:46 remaining, the Lancers scored 14 points, 9 from guard Jon Beuerlein, who finished the game with 12.

Wilber and 6-8 center Alan Lewis each scored 11 points, and guard David Sawyer added 10 for Fullerton.

Troy 51, La Habra 37--Jeff Holland and Matt Carruthers scored 10 points each as the Warriors (13-6, 7-2) set up a showdown with Sunny Hills for first place Friday night at Sunny Hills.

Sonora 69, Buena Park 68--Sonora’s Grayle Humphrey drove the length of the court after a missed free throw by Buena Park’s Mike Toscan, and scored on a layup with one second left to give the Raiders (8-12, 3-6) the victory at Buena Park.