By Ted Apodaca
Buena Park dug itself a big hole in its Freeway League boys basketball opener on Tuesday at Troy High. The Coyotes scrambled to try and rally down the stretch, but came up short as Troy held on for a 77-68 win at Troy High.
Elijah Jones-Church led the Coyotes with 30 points and Cameron Dashiell had 18. Kevin Scott added 11 points for the Coyotes.
The game was tied 18-18 after the first quarter, but Troy pulled away in the second quarter and led 39-29 by halftime. Troy extended their lead to 55-39 at the end of the third quarter and led by 20 early in the fourth.
Late in the game, the Coyotes turned up their defense to try and get back in the game. When Jones-Church drove through the key for a layup and foul three-point play, the lead was cut to 70-57 with 3:18 left in the game.
Troy led 72-59 when the Coyotes went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 72-65 with 59 seconds left. Jones-Church was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three to cut the lead to 74-68 with 19.5 seconds left, but Troy was able to run the clock out.
The Coyotes are 9-9 and 0-1 in league play after the loss. Buena Park will host Sonora on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Coyotes will play at Fullerton on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
