Bishop Gorman blasts Faith Lutheran

By Christopher Drexel

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 | 1 a.m.

The Battle of Hualapai is born.

Summerlin's two biggest private schools, Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran, played a boys basketball game for the first time Tuesday with the knowledge Faith Lutheran would be moving to Class 4A next season. Fans from both schools packed Faith Lutheran's gym to witness the game and two raucous student sections spent the evening exchanging chants.

The action on the court was competitive through two quarters as Gorman took a narrow 39-37 lead into the break. In the second half, however, Gorman showed why it was the 4A Sunset Region runner-up a year ago and that Faith Lutheran, the four-time defending state champion in 3A, still has work to do before it plays a schedule exclusive with big schools next year, as Gorman won 81-59.

"Now that we're five miles apart, both private schools, it's a good rivalry," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "When we looked up and saw the student sections packed here and how many people were here, I think it really got our guys excited."

Faith Lutheran athletic director and boys basketball coach Bret Walter said starting a rivalry with a team like Gorman is exciting and a taste of what's to come in 4A.

"It's great for the kids and great for the town," Walter said. "We're just starting to embark on the future and you got to see it here tonight. The interesting thing is we played at The Meadows last night and that used to be our rivalry. You can see things transitioning. All the talk and hype was about what was going to happen tonight."

Walter said Faith Lutheran has scheduled as many 4A opponents as possible this season to prepare for its move to the larger classification. The Crusaders played two large schools from Southern California last week and are scheduled to participate in three tournaments that predominantly feature 4A teams before the new year.

Faith Lutheran sophomore Brett Lubbe, who led the Crusaders with 19 points, said games against Gorman would continue to get more intense in the future.

"When you play in the 3A, it's a reality check to play a team like Gorman, who usually contends for a state title every year," Lubbe said. "You find out how hard you have to work to be one of the elite teams."

Containing Lubbe after the break was a key reason Gorman was able to pull away in the second half as 14 of Lubbe's points came in the first two quarters. Gorman outscored Faith Lutheran 21-8 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

John Loyd, who led all scorers with 23 points, said he was surprised the game was close early.

"We were expecting to come out fast but (Faith Lutheran) punched us right in the mouth," Loyd said.

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or [email protected].