Gorman, Western to meet in finals

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 23, 2001 | 11:38 a.m.

Thursday's semifinals

· Western 50, Las Vegas 30

· B. Gorman 77, Galena 41

Today's championship

· B. Gorman (29-2) vs. Western (25-5), 7 p.m.

RENO -- Almost any basketball coach will tell you it's tough to beat the same team three times in a season. If that's truly the case, the Western Warriors must be feeling pretty confident at the moment.

Tonight at 7, the Warriors will match up with division rival Bishop Gorman for the fourth time, with Nevada's ultimate prize -- the 4A state boys championship -- on the line.

"The media has already given the championship to Gorman," said Western coach Tony Hopkins, whose club is 0-3 against the Gaels this year. "Let's see who wins it out on the floor."

Both teams moved on to the finals with easy victories at Nevada-Reno's Lawlor Events Center Thursday, setting up the title matchup most have been predicting since December.

"Coming in, I really thought in my heart Western and Gorman were the two best teams in the state," Gaels coach Bob Hubbard said. "It's really hard to play a team four times ... but I think it's going to be a great game (Friday)."

In the early semifinal, the Warriors (25-5) raced past Sunrise Region champion Las Vegas 50-30, never allowing the Wildcats into the game.

Likewise, the Gaels (28-3) dominated Galena in the nightcap, trouncing the Northern Region's final championship hope 77-41.

"We know what they run, they know what we run," Western center Tim Day said of tonight's championship matchup. "We just have to go out and play hard and hopefully, we can get the fourth one."

Tonight's game will mark the fourth straight year two Southern Nevada division rivals will play for the 4A boys trophy. Valley defeated Las Vegas in 1998, Cimarron-Memorial downed Cheyenne in 1999 and Gorman got past Durango in last year's championship.

Also on Thursday, The Meadows earned a spot in today's 2A boys championship, defeating Whittell 58-51 in round one of the four-team tournament.

"They're a run-and-gun team, so we said, 'Let's match their intensity,' " Day said. "When we got the lead, their spirits went down and the game was over after that."

Day dominated the glass early, pulling down seven of his team-high 10 rebounds in the first half, and point guard P.J. Stinnett connected on back-to-back 3-point shots from the corner to help the Warriors build a 26-13 lead at halftime.

After falling behind by as many as 16 points, Las Vegas pulled within 10, 31-21, on Stanley Copeland's 3-pointer with 2:40 to play in the third quarter.

But from there, it was all Western. The Warriors closed the game with a 29-9 run, holding the Wildcats to just four points in the final quarter.

"We wanted to make their guards into shooters," Hopkins said. "We weren't going to allow them to penetrate."

Day and guard Wendell West scored 10 points apiece to lead a balanced attack for the victors, with Brandon Weaver, Leonta Matthews and Stinnett each adding eight points. Matthews provided a spark off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers, while Matt Robinson grabbed seven rebounds for Western.

Jeremy Atwater finished with nine points and 10 rebounds for Las Vegas.

Trapping Galena's guards every time they crossed halfcourt, Gorman held the Grizzlies without a point for nearly seven minutes in the second quarter. The Northern Region champs shot just 8-for-26 in the field in the second and third quarters, turning the ball over eight times in that span as well.

"We really went after them defensively, and that was the key," Hubbard said. "We took them out of their game. They really couldn't get into their offense."

On the other end, the Gaels rode the back of big man Jason Carter early, with the 6-10 center scoring seven of his 11 points before halftime.

"Jason really came to play tonight, and when the big fella comes to play, school's out early," Hubbard said.

When Galena packed it in on Carter, Gorman guards Dinard Taylor (three 3-pointers) and C.J. Watson (15 points) made them pay from long range, and forwards Paul Bania (12 points) and Justin Burns (10 points) scored easy buckets slashing to the basket.

"I've never seen a Gorman team so focused," said Galena coach Tom Mauer, whose Grizzlies also lost to the Gaels in the 1997 state title game and in last year's first round. "They play intelligently, and they are so well coached."

Offered Bania, "We watched them last night and we thought we were more athletic. We figured if we got an early lead, they'd fall apart."

The Mustangs will face West Wendover -- a 49-43 winner over Tonopah -- in today's 2A title game at 5 p.m.

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