Sonora’s Bud Castle Gymnasium was standing-room only Friday night, as the raucous environment played host to a Mother Lode League matchup between the Sonora Wildcats and Summerville Bears in the two teams’ first bout of the 2022-23 boys basketball season.
The stands were packed, and Sonora’s Golden Regiment Band assembled in the corner of the bleachers to fill the gym with noise alongside the rowdy student sections of either school.
As two of the top teams in this year’s MLL boys basketball standings, whoever won Friday night’s game between the Bears (3-1) and Wildcats (3-1) would hold the second-best record in the league behind unbeaten Calaveras (5-0).
In the end, it was the Wildcats who defended their home court to move to 4-1 on the season with a 52-42 win over the visiting Bears.
The Wildcats were without top scorers Reese Hampton and Ryan McDaniel in the contest, forcing them to rely on their depth to get past a talented Summerville team, according to Sonora head coach Lloyd Longeway.
“We got a lot of younger guys some varsity experience in a big game, with the band, with nerves in a rivalry game. That’s huge,” Longeway said. “They had good moments and moments that we know we need to get better at, but just having that experience — we know it’s going to pay off for us.”
Summerville came out notably flat to start the first quarter, turning the ball over on three-straight possessions under Sonora’s full-court pressure as the Wildcats jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.
George Henderson got the Bears’ scoring started with a 3-pointer from the wing. Kai Elkins added a 3-point basket of his own when the ball found him in the left corner.
The Bears needed their shots to fall from deep early in the game, as the hulking, 6-foot-5 figure of Sonora’s Roger Alderman loomed in the paint — deterring a number of Summerville drives early in the game.
“He is definitely a tall unit of a person,” Henderson said of Alderman. “We usually put Braylon (Leveroos) on their bigs, pretty strong guys. He tends to lock them down most of the time, but some kids are just bigger and can jump higher.”
Longeway said Alderman affected the game far more than the box score might have suggested.
“It was a big deal,” Longeway said. “He only scored 5 points, but it felt like more and he felt like more. Defensively, he was always in the middle of the lane. They didn’t get much in the middle.”
Sonora sophomore guard Jon Curran added, “Even when he’s not getting blocked shots, kids have to kick it out, they go up timid … even if I get blown by and mess up, I know I have got him down low.”
The Bears’ first 2-point basket came early in the second quarter, as a Sonora player telegraphed their pass and it was read by Summerville’s 6-foot-6 forward Ry Atkins, who read the play. Atkins stole the ball and went coast to coast, slamming home the ball in a thunderous dunk to get the Bears’ crowd on its feet.
After trailing 16-7 before that play, the whole momentum of the game shifted in Summerville’s favor. Atkins hit a pull-up 2-pointer on the baseline the next play, then the Bears’ Leveroos and Elkins got into the paint for 4 more points.
Elkins hit his second corner 3-pointer from the same spot to end the quarter, cutting Sonora’s lead to only 21-20 and both teams headed to the locker room.
According to Longeway, the Wildcats had Atkins on their scouting report as a shooter, but Elkins’ ability to make them pay when they sagged off of him was unexpected.
“We were definitely aware of that — I knew that he could shoot the ball, too,” Longeway said of Atkins. “I considered him their second-best shooter, but (Kai) Elkins was a pretty good shooter, too. I was worried about him in the corner, he hurt us there.”
The third quarter belonged to the Wildcats, as they outscored Summerville 16-6. The Bears went cold from 3-point range, a phenomenon that haunted them throughout the game. They finished only 7-of-31 from deep. Summerville’s guards in particular were uncharacteristically cold, shooting a combined 0-of-12 on the night.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats got good minutes from Parker Moore, who moved around from the small forward spot to center depending on matchups. Moore said his versatility — able to guard and attack multiple positions — makes him a perfect pairing alongside Alderman.
“It works out really well, because most teams only have one or two bigs, so there is either a smaller guy guarding me or a bigger guy guarding me,” Moore said. “If they are bigger, I am faster (and) if they are smaller, I am bigger. It’s fun to play buddy ball with him.”
“Parker Moore had a very nice second half for us, hitting two threes and that and-1 that he got fouled on,” Longeway said of the junior. “He gave us a little boost in that third quarter and we were able to get separation which we really needed.”
As the game entered the final quarter, the Bears fought back ferociously. Henderson went ballistic over the final minutes of the contest, hitting four 3-point baskets in the last quarter alone to keep Summerville in the game. Henderson did a good job coming off of screens to lose his man and create space for his shots.
“Henderson is a good scorer, I mean he can shoot the ball,” Longeway said. “When we lost him, every time he was shooting and they were looking good.”
Those late-game scoring outbursts are nothing new for Henderson, but for his part, the senior said he would like to find a way to have those scoring outbursts before the game is out of hand.
“That happens a lot. I don’t know why that happens in the last two minutes of the game, but it just happens,” Henderson said. “I practice a lot, a lot of threes mostly. Sometimes it just clicks.”
Despite Henderson’s late-game heroics, the Wildcats handled things down the stretch and emerged from the game victorious 52-42. Though the game ended differently for each team, players from both squads agreed on one thing: The atmosphere was electric.
“It was like a playoff atmosphere — just great to be here,” Curran said. “It’s a little bit harder to hear Coach calling plays, but for the most part it pumps you up.”
“I love the crowds,” Henderson added. “I like it when you have both student sections competing, you have got our whole school here, their whole school here. It’s good to see our whole school come out for this type of stuff.
The Wildcats will get a brief respite as they will host the 0-17 Amador Buffaloes at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday to start the second half of league play, while things only get tougher for the Bears, who will have their second bout with the unbeaten Calaveras Red Hawks in Tuolumne at the same time.
Contact Dominic Massimino at dmassimino@uniondemocrat.net or (209) 588-4526. Follow him on Twitter at @DominicUDSports
