Gaels face ‘brutal’ slate

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

It's not often that a loss is better than a win, especially when it comes in a team's final regular season game.

For the state's top-ranked boys basketball team, however, that just might be the case. Though last Friday's loss to Western cost No. 1 Bishop Gorman the Southwest Division title, it may have inched the Gaels closer to a trip to next week's 4A state tournament.

Now, as the division's No. 2 seed, Gorman can earn a state berth at this week's Sunset Region Tournament without beating either of the local teams with wins over the Gaels this year: Western and Durango.

But you won't find Gaels coach Jeff Wagonseller looking that far ahead. If his club gets past defending zone champion Cheyenne tonight at 7 p.m., Gorman will face either Northwest Division champ Palo Verde or Clark -- a team that lost to the Gaels by just six points earlier this month.

"We're going to have our hands full with Cheyenne," said Wagonseller, whose squad posted a 61-55 win over the Desert Shields on Dec. 8. "And Clark played us extremely tough the last time we saw them. So we've got to be fired up. There are some brutal games out there."

Still, the consensus among coaches is that the other half of the Sunset bracket will prove to be the most competitive. Should No. 2 Western and No. 4 Durango best their first-round opponents tonight, the Warriors and Trailblazers will square off on Friday -- with the winner advancing to the state tournament and the loser going home.

"The biggest problem right now is when you're in a short tournament like this, the team that's playing the best has the best chance," Durango coach Al LaRocque said. "And I think Western is playing the best right now."

In the Sunrise Region Tournament, No. 3 Las Vegas and No. 6 Valley come in as overwhelming favorites to claim the east side's two state berths.

But Wildcats coach Bob Beskow warns that none of the other six teams can be taken lightly.

"I told them that any game might be their last game," Beskow said. "The thing we really emphasized the last four days was that those (regular-season wins) are now meaningless."

Should the Wildcats advance, they'll face the winner of tonight's Rancho at Silverado game. Though the Skyhawks posted an easy 64-46 victory over the Rams on Dec. 3, Silverado coach Pat Condron is expecting a tougher challenge this time around.

"They're going to be as athletic a team as we've seen," Condron said. "We're going to see quickness, and second and third rebounds concern me."

On the other side of the Sunrise bracket, Green Valley will host Eldorado and Valley will entertain Chaparral. Should the higher seeds move on, the Vikings will play host to the Gators in a rematch of their Dec. 9 tilt -- a contest Valley won 73-62.

After Wednesday's first round, Sunset games will be played at Palo Verde with Sunrise contests at Valley. Both championships are slated for 7 p.m. Saturday.

* ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Area coaches selected their 1999-2000 all-division and all-region teams Monday night, and the top awards went to Durango guard Jamaal Brimmer, the Sunset Region MVP, and Basic forward Ian Atkins and Rancho forward Rod Lukes, the Sunrise Region Co-MVPs.

Joining Brimmer on the all-Sunrise squad were: Palo Verde center Yolondo Ferguson, Western center Modesto Fowler, Clark forward Charles Henderson, Mojave forward Elijah Smith and Bishop Gorman guard Dinard Taylor. Western's Tony Hopkins received Coach of the Year honors.

Along with Atkins and Lukes, the all-Sunset team was comprised of: Las Vegas forward Tremmell Darden, Chaparral forward Mario Hagan, Valley guard Sam Jackson and Silverado guard Kevin Short. Las Vegas' Bob Beskow was named Sunset Coach of the Year.