Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
Bishop Gorman’s Demetris Morant, right, blocks a shot of Western’s Aaron Buckley earlier this season.
Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011 | 1:07 a.m.
Bishop Gorman vs. Long Beach Poly
KSNV coverage of the Bishop Gorman vs. Long Beach Poly basketball game, Feb. 5, 2011.
Prep Sports Now
Stakes are raised with regular season winding down
Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Case Keefer and Ray Brewer take a look around Las Vegas at the teams that are peaking at the right time. They also break down some of the week's most important contests.
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Minutes before his team took the court Saturday for its nationally televised game, Bishop Gorman High basketball coach Grant Rice delivered a message to his squad of mostly underclassmen.
“We told the kids they aren’t a young team anymore,” Rice said. “We’ve played in so many games this year, the kids knew what to expect. They were calm.”
Gorman, which starts four juniors and has a freshman receiving significant minutes at point guard, picked up the signature victory it so desperately needed, topping third-ranked Long Beach Poly 58-53 on ESPN2 in Santa Ana, Calif.
Gorman improved to 20-5 on the season, with all five defeats coming against nationally ranked opponents. Entering the fourth quarter, another setback seemed possible with Gorman trailing by five points, 35-30.
Enter the experience.
In four of Gorman’s five defeats, they had fourth-quarter leads and were literally a bounce or possession away from victory. This time, their improvements were obvious.
“We are a more mature team,” Rice said.
Gorman opened the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run to take the lead. It sealed the game on the free throw line, connecting on 18 of 19 in the final eight minutes.
Junior Shabazz Muhammad, the nation’s top shooting guard recruit for the class of 2012 by Rivals.com, led Gorman with 31 points. He connected on 7-of-7 free throws in the final quarter, including a pair with 5:30 remaining to give Gorman the lead for good.
Forward Demetris Morant, who played most of the fourth quarter after Ronnie Stanley fouled out, finished with eight points. He was excellent in transition, taking the ball to the rim and drawing fouls — which helped Gorman reach the double bonus (two free throws for each Long Beach foul).
Gorman led 19-18 at halftime despite several sequences of ugly basketball in the second quarter. There were turnovers, fouls, scoring dry spells — but, in a sign of improvements, the Gaels were able to overcome the shortcomings.
“We clawed our way back,” Rice said. “We hadn’t played good basketball (by halftime) and we were only down one point.”
Ben Carter added 11 points for Gorman, which plays Clark and Bonanza next week in Southwest Division play.
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