High School Sports

Bishop Gorman's Tanner Britton from the Sun's All-City team.

Gorman lineman finds home at Nebraska school: high school recruiting:; Monday, March 4, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Tanner Britton was born in San Diego and spent most of his life living in Las Vegas. He’ll spent the next four or five years in a much cooler climate.

Desert Pines Malik Davis (11), Julian Jacobs and Timothy Hough (2) celebrate after defeating Clark in their Class 1A basketball championship game Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 at the Orleans Arena. After trailing almost the whole game, Desert Pines came from behind to win 59-57

Desert Pines rides star Jacobs in erasing 12-point fourth quarter deficit to down Clark for state title: high school basketball: The championship is the first in any sport for Desert Pines, which opened in 1999; Saturday, February 23, 2013; By Ray Brewer; With the state high school basketball championship game tied and just seconds remaining, everyone at the Orleans Arena knew who would get the ball for Desert Pines High in the Division I-A finals against Clark. Julian Jacobs, a senior guard who is signed with USC, led a frantic comeback by Desert Pines in the fourth quarter, helping the Jaguars erase a 12-point deficit to set the table for the dramatic finish.

Bishop Gorman's Stephen Zimmerman drives past Centennial's Eddie Davis during their Division I state championship game Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 at the Orleans. Gorman won 69-43.

Margin of victory in Gorman's fourth state title in five years is surprising: high school basketball: In what was expected to be a close game, powerhouse Gaels frustrate Centennial with great zone defense in lopsided win; Friday, February 22, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Nobody expected an outcome this lopsided. Bishop Gorman High senior guard Trey Kennedy knew his team was comfortably ahead Friday against Centennial in the Division-I high school state basketball game at the Orleans Arena, but wasn’t closely following the score. Then, he looked up.

Centennial basketball player Marcus Allen Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012.

Centennial rallies to force overtime, knock off Canyon Springs for date with Gorman in state finals: high school basketball:; Thursday, February 21, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Marcus Allen often shoots 25 free throws in the Centennial High gym each morning before heading to class. Then, when the Bulldogs’ senior guard returns home, he’s back on the court working on his game. The experience paid off Thursday.

Desert Pines Julian Jacobs drives to the basket during practice Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Nevada's best high school basketball team might still be debated after state tournament: high school basketball: Desert Pines and Clark are destined to meet for Division I-A title Saturday, thriving all season in the shadow of larger-classification schools Gorman and Centennial; Thursday, February 21, 2013; By Ray Brewer; At the end of the Desert Pines High basketball team’s Tuesday practice, Jaguars coach Mike Uzan brought his players together underneath the basket on the far side of the gym and delivered a simple message: Let’s make history. Uzan urged them to seize the moment, reminding the teenagers their goal of being state champions was two victories away.

Bishop Gorman's Noah Robotham, left, dives for a loose ball during a game against Centennial High School at Bishop Gorman Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Centennial's Malcolm Allen is at right. Bishop Gorman beat Centennial 79-71 in double overtime.

With 2011 semifinal loss as a reminder, power Gorman knows winning another championship won't be easy: high school basketball: The four-team state tournament begins Thursday at the Orleans Arena with Gorman playing Reno's Hug High; Wednesday, February 20, 2013; By Ray Brewer; At this junction of the high school basketball season in Nevada, there typically isn’t much debate as to which team will win the state championship.

New Faith Lutheran football coach Vernon Fox is pictured in this 2009 file photo.

Former NFL player considered the perfect coach to take over this local high school team: high school football:; Wednesday, February 20, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Vernon Fox, a former high school football star at Cimarron-Memorial who eventually had a lengthy NFL career, has no previous coaching experience. Yet, officials at one local high school feel he’s the perfect man to lead their program.

Las Vegas High School place kicker Jay Mattox is shown at the school Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.

It's rare for kickers to get a scholarship, but Las Vegas High's Jay Mattox found a spot at UTEP: high school recruiting: The left-footed kicker verbally committed to the Miners Tuesday after a weekend visit; Tuesday, February 19, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Las Vegas High senior Jay Mattox was rated as one of the nation’s top place kickers for the class of 2013 for the past two years. Yet, each college coach that recruited him had a similar sales pitch: “We’d love you to walk on.”

From left, Centennial's Marcus Allen, Malcolm Allen and Austin Turley celebrate an and-one during their game Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 at Centennial. Bishop Gorman won 79-71.

The Allen twins get the credit, but Centennial's berth in state tournament not a two-person show: high school basketball: The Bulldogs overcome double-digit deficit to beat Valley for last spot in Thursday's state tournament; Monday, February 18, 2013; By Ray Brewer; With the Centennial High basketball team trailing Valley Monday by 10 points midway through the second quarter of the state play-in game, several in the gym assumed a player with the last name Allen would be the one to step up. And, twins Marcus and Malcolm Allen eventually took over the game. But, at this junction of the game, the Bulldogs had help from an unlikely source.

Rashad Muhammad holds the Sunset Regional championship trophy while celebrating with his Bishop Gorman teammates after defeating Centennial for the title at Durango High School on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013.

Bishop Gorman squeaks past Centennial again, wins Sunset regional title: High school basketball: Second-half rally from Centennial comes up short; Friday, February 15, 2013; By Case Keefer; Now that they’ve spent 104 minutes playing against each other at three different venues, the body of evidence is both expansive and conclusive. Bishop Gorman is a better basketball team than Centennial.

Canyon Springs HS Boys Basketball team celebrates after beating Valley HS 81 to 74 and taking the Sunrise Championship for Division 1, Friday Feb. 15, 2013.

Canyon Springs, standout guard develop ahead of schedule to win Sunrise title: high school basketball: Former UNLV star Freddie Banks' team is looking for its second state championship in three seasons; Friday, February 15, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Jordan Davis always believed he would be leading his basketball team onto the floor at the high school state tournament. But not even Davis, a sophomore guard at Canyon Springs High, could imagine it happening at this stage of his career. Davis, after all, wasn’t promoted to the varsity team until two weeks ago.

Centennial guard Austin Turley draws a foul from Bishop Gorman's Stephen Zimmerman during their game Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 at Centennial. Bishop Gorman won 79-71.

Bishop Gorman glides into third matchup with Centennial for Sunset region title: Stephen Zimmerman, Rashad Muhammad pull Gaels away early in semifinals; Friday, February 15, 2013; By Case Keefer; Attention to “Ocean's Thirteen” and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez: You now have company in the annals of most enthralling trilogies in Las Vegas over the last decade. The Bishop Gorman and Centennial basketball teams will meet again Friday night. The third matchup between the two best Division 1 high school basketball teams became official when Gorman breezed past Palo Verde 71-55 in the Sunset regional semifinals at Durango High Thursday night.

Valley's Johnson breaks out of slump at right time, leads Vikings to Sunrise title game: high school basketball:; Thursday, February 14, 2013; By Ray Brewer; Ryan Johnson couldn’t make a shot. When Johnson, Valley High School’s senior point guard, was warming up Thursday at halftime during the Vikings’ Sunrise Regional semifinal game against Foothill, he would frequently shake his head in disgust because everything he attempted badly missed. That all changed on Valley’s first possession of the second half, helping Valley prevail 62-55 to advance to Friday’s championship game against Canyon Springs.

Centennial High School's Khalil Thompson, left, passes the ball during a game against Bishop Gorman at Bishop Gorman Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Bishop Gorman beat Centennial 79-71 in double overtime.

Centennial roars into Sunset regional finals behind Khalil Thompson's stroke: Centennial pulls away from Arbor View in second half; Thursday, February 14, 2013; By Case Keefer; Khalil Thompson made Durango High’s BlazerDome look like his personal practice space, sinking eight of 12 three-point attempts to lead Centennial to an 80-70 victory over Arbor View.

Davis brothers help Canyon Springs outlast Las Vegas, reach Sunrise championship game: high school basketball:; Thursday, February 14, 2013; By Ray Brewer; The Canyon Springs High basketball team was trailing Las Vegas by nine points at the end of the first quarter Thursday in the Sunrise Regional semifinals when the Pioneers got the spark they needed. The scoreboard at Green Valley malfunctioned to cause about a 15-minute game delay, giving Canyon Springs a chance to regroup and game plan against Las Vegas’ up-tempo attack it had struggled to contain. Canyon Springs went on a 12-0 scoring run after the game restarted, eventually prevailing 67-64 in a back-and-forth affair to earn a spot in Friday’s Sunrise championship game.

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High School Sports Scene blog

High School Basketball Picks: State Championship

February 19, 2013 • 1:20 p.m.

Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer attempt to pick winners in high school basketball games each week.

• High School Basketball Picks: Regional Playoffs Edition (February 11, 2013)

• High School Basketball Picks: Entry 6 (February 4, 2013)

• High School Basketball Picks: Entry 5 (January 28, 2013)

• High School Basketball Picks: Entry 3 (January 7, 2013)

All blog entries »

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