Upsets, heartbreak set scene for intriguing state tournament

Adam Candee

Monday, Feb. 24, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.

Bishop Gorman and Green Valley are stunned, Rancho and Valley are ecstatic, Cheyenne still looks invincible and Centennial's girls finally looked vulnerable.

What a weekend of surprises and revelations from regional playoff action, and it all sets up a wildly intriguing Class 4A State Basketball Tournament, beginning Wednesday morning in Reno. Here's a look back at two days of upsets and excitement, and a look forward to state:

The Gaels (23-7) squandered two chances to earn a berth, first blowing a huge lead against Palo Verde in Friday's Sunset semifinals to lose 58-56 in overtime, and then completely collapsing against Durango, 78-64, in the Saturday third-place game.

"The last four games of the season, we really played our worst basketball," Gorman coach Grant Rice said.

All season, whispers about the Gaels' lack of a point guard or a go-to player followed the team. Those whispers became screams at playoff time -- Gorman fell apart against Palo Verde when sophomore Kashif Watson, its only one-on-one playmaker, fouled out in the fourth quarter. The Gaels also missed numerous layup chances down the stretch.

"With us, it's just the little things," Rice said. "It's not physical, it's mental."

Even more stunning is Green Valley's failure to escape the weak Sunrise Division. Valley eliminated the Gators (23-8) in the Sunrise semifinals, 64-60, despite huge showings from Mitch Platt and Ron Dunlap, who scored 46 of the team's 60 points. That puts the posthumous onus on the Gators' maligned backcourt.

Did karma catch the Gators? Rumors flew this weekend that Green Valley's plane tickets to Reno were ready to go last Monday. Instead of the Gators, underdog entries Rancho and Valley -- with a combined 26-25 record -- will represent the Sunrise.

The Gaels (23-5) handed the Bulldogs (28-2) their first loss to a Nevada team this season, 51-49. The loss ended Centennial's amazing 57-game winning streak against in-state opponents, and it also punctured the Bulldogs' heavy air of invincibility.

"Any time you beat (Centennial), it gives us momentum and I think that's great going into state," Gaels coach Sheryl Krympotich said.

Gorman needed a miracle just to earn a shot at Centennial. Trailing Bonanza by two points with 2.4 seconds remaining in their Sunset semifinal, the Gaels inbounded to Moneka Knight, who sprinted to midcourt and heaved a prayer downcourt. The shot banked in for a 39-38 win, touching off a Gaels frenzy.

The Gaels' reward for winning the region? A quarterfinal date with No. 5 Fallon, while the runner-up Bulldogs take on Chaparral.

And what about the heartbreak kids at Bonanza? Just seconds from a trip to Reno, the Bengals responded Saturday by building an 11-point lead over Western, only to watch the Warriors come back and win, 63-60, sending Bonanza home. Ouch.

There is no disappointment at Palo Verde, tas the Panthers (25-6) continued their amazing run by earning a trip to Reno with their Sunset Region semifinal victory over Bishop Gorman.

Palo Verde emerged from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Gaels, another feat of determination from a squad that placed no one on the All-Sunset first team.

"I never thought we'd be playing like this," Clarke said.

Clarke himself began a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma before the season, just another hurdle for the group to overcome. Clarke is beating cancer, and now, the dream continues against Valley in the 4A State quarterfinals.

"It's unbelievable," Clarke said. "It's like a storybook thing."