Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
It took two extra sessions, but Valley finally struck a blow for Sunrise Division basketball.
In a double-overtime thriller, visiting Valley beat Bishop Gorman, 85-77. The victory marks the first time since 1994-95 that either of the Sunset Division's powers, Gorman or two-time defending state champ Durango, have been beaten by a Sunrise foe.
It also marked Gorman's first loss of the season, dropping them to 5-1. Valley now is 4-1.
The Vikings used clutch free-throw shooting to top the Gaels, hitting 11 of 12 in the second overtime alone. For the game, they were just 33 of 44 from the line. The Gaels nailed 18 of 22 free throws.
The contest was close throughout and featured several lead changes. Bishop Gorman trailed 19-18 after the first period, but evened it at 32 by the half.
Behind a 21-point third quarter, the Gaels got ahead 53-50. But the Vikings responded with strong defense in the fourth, allowing just 10 points and tying the score at 63.
The score was tied at 72 after one overtime before Valley dropped the hammer at the free-throw line.
Valley point guard LaRon tae Johnson, who hit five foul shots in the final overtime, finished with a team-high 20 points. Backcourt mate Jevon Banks scored 17, while center Alex Hernandez added 15.
Gorman was led by Kendall Soares' 22. Jason Vanmeetren scored 14 more, while Shane Christensen tossed in 13.
In other local boys' action, Durango edged Las Vegas, 88-86, to remain undefeated; Bonanza beat Eldorado, 46-40; Western topped Green Valley, 74-64; Cheyenne defeated Chaparral, 69-52; Clark beat Basic, 82-73; Rancho slipped by Cimarron-Memorial, 69-66; Class AAA Boulder City beat Silverado, 63-56.
Girls' AAAA games
Two local girls' programs teamed up to sweep a double header of sorts Tuesday, beating Canadian school Vanier twice in a matter of a few hours.
First, Basic beat Vanier 45-42 in a game which tipped off at 4 p.m. Then, the team from British Columbia traveled to Silverado, where it was beaten 53-24 in a game starting at 7:30 p.m.
Basic was able to win despite a late Vanier charge of 18 points in the fourth quarter and a game-high 21 points from Roberta Sagal.
The Wolves countered with a balanced offensive attack. Melanie and Valerie Harris led the way with a team-high eight points apiece.
Vanier was spent once it got to is second stop, and the fact it was playing one of the best teams in the valley in Silverado didn't help.
The Skyhawks soared behind 14 points from Joyce Sudario and 13 more from Helen Kale. They also limited their visitors to just four points in each of the final two periods.
Sagal again led Vanier, but this time with eight points.
In other girls' games, Bishop Gorman trounced Valley, 67-37; Eldorado beat Bonanza, 47-40; Western toppled Green Valley, 46-27; Cheyenne stopped Chaparral, 61-52; Cimarron defeated Rancho, 47-32; Las Vegas topped Durango, 57-50.
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