Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2001 | 11 a.m.
Just last week, it looked to many like a done deal.
Bishop Gorman's boys team would travel to Reno as a prohibitive favorite to win its second straight 4A state basketball championship.
And if any area girls team was to have a shot to break Southern Nevada's 20-year title drought, that would also be Gorman, which had yet to lose to an in-state opponent.
All that changed over the weekend, however. Both Gaels squads tended to struggle during their respective Sunset Region tournaments, giving hope to the area's other remaining hopefuls, all of whom boarded planes for Reno today. The 4A State Tournament tips off Wednesday at UNR's Lawlor Events Center.
Although Gorman's boys (27-2) captured the Sunset title, their 60-57 come-from-behind win over Cimarron-Memorial in round one and 60-56 overtime victory over Western in the finals may have dispelled the notion that the defending champs are invincible.
"Gorman can be beat," Western coach Tony Hopkins said. "If we're fortunate enough to play them (in the finals), I'm fully confident that if we execute, Western High School can beat Gorman.
"I know they're not afraid of us, but we're not intimidated by them, either," Hopkins added.
Gaels coach Bob Hubbard, meanwhile, said the recent close calls have only made his team more battle-tested as it prepares to defend its title.
"I think that somewhere along the line, you have to know what it's like to be behind and make shots when they're really important," said Hubbard, whose team opens against Sunrise runner-up Desert Pines (18-6). "It doesn't do you any good to beat everyone by 20 points."
If they win Wednesday, the Gaels could come up against Northern Region champion Galena (23-7), which takes on Green Valley (17-10) in round one. Nevertheless, Hubbard said he prefers his half of the bracket to the other side, which includes the likes of Western (23-5), Sunrise champion Las Vegas (21-11) and Reno (24-6), considered by many to be the north's best hope for its first title since 1993.
"I like our draw. I feel it's better than the bottom half, but the bottom line is you have to win games," Hubbard said. "We should be favored in most games, but you still have to go out and play. North Carolina just lost to the last-place team in its conference, so anything can happen in the game of basketball."
After rolling through the regular season, losing only to Wisconsin powerhouse Pius XI and ranked California squad Berkeley, the Gaels' girls squad experienced unexpected trouble in Saturday's Sunset finale. Gorman fell 52-44 to a Centennial team that lost to the Gaels by 25 in December.
Like Hubbard, Gorman girls coach Sheryl Krmpotich put a positive spin on her team's recent stumble.
"It's the best thing that could have happened to us," she said. "We hadn't lost since December 9, and we came into the game unfocused. Now we're refocused and rejuvenated."
Because they come in as the No. 2 seed, the Gaels (25-3) will have their work cut out for them if they hope to become the first southern state champion since Chaparral won in 1980. They will face McQueen (25-3) in round one, then could find two more northern powers -- Reno (23-4) and defending state champion Galena (23-5) -- blocking their path in the semifinals and finals.
For now, though, Krmpotich said she's only thinking about game one against the Lancers.
"We don't want to go in thinking we're going to win state," Krmpotich said. "We're first focusing on McQueen, and if we win then we win. In 20 years no (southern team) has gone up there and done anything, so we're going in as underdogs and that's how we like it."
Centennial (28-3), on the other hand, dramatically improved its chances to advance in the tournament by defeating Gorman and earning the Sunset's top seed. The Bulldogs will open against Sunrise runner-up Silverado (24-6) -- a matchup that will give both teams a chance to adjust to their surroundings before facing a northern opponent.
"We told our kids, 'You're not going to be able to use the excuse that the northern teams are already there, that they slept in their own beds,' " Weitz said. "This time, we're playing a team in the same situation we are."
Weitz's club will also have added confidence after avenging its only two area losses this season -- to Bonanza and Gorman -- beating both in the Sunset regional.
"My girls are confident enough to know anybody can be beaten on any given night," Weitz said. "Six of our girls were up (in Reno) last year, and that should also be a huge help."
Friday night's 4A title games will be broadcast live on KRLV AM-1340 beginning with the boys game at 7 p.m. and will air tape-delayed on KTUD Cable Channel 14 (UPN), starting with the boys game at 10 p.m.
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