LAS VEGAS – The Bishop Gorman Gaels took another step Thursday night toward winning their first championship in the high-profile tournament they’ve hosted for four years.
The Gaels got a performance that was equal parts clutch and spectacular from Charles O’Bannon Jr. to hold off last year’s champion in the top (Platinum) division, Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo, 63-58.
The win moved Coach Grant Rice’s squad into a Friday night (5:30/PT) semifinal against Weston (FL) Sagemont in the Orleans Hotel Arena.
Sagemont knocked off Plano (TX) Prestonwood Christian Academy, 68-61, in the final Platinum quarterfinal played in Bishop Gorman’s main (big) gymnasium Thursday night.
In the Thursday’s first two quarterfinals, Aurora (CO) Overland edged Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Dillard, 49-45, while South Jordan (UT) Bingham built a 28-point advantage with about seven minutes to go en route to a 73-62 victory against Corona (CA) Centennial.
Overland and Dillard hook up in the first Platinum semifinal in the Arena at 4 o’clock Friday afternoon.
Six high school division (in the Platinum, Gold and Select brackets) games and two “prep school” games will be played in Arena Friday, beginning with the 10 o’clock Gold contest between Southern California teams Lynwood and Pasadena.
Platinum Division winners over the first three years were Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei in 2012-13 and Redondo in 2014.
The Gaels lost in the 2012 final and 2013-14 semifinals.
The Redondo Seahawks of Coach Reggie Morris Jr. used jump shooting and superior team quickness and speed to counter Gorman’s big size advantage and zone defense to jump out to a 15-9 advantage Thursday.
But the Gaels used a 14-zip run over a stretch of about seven minutes to help take a five-point advantage (at 28-23) at intermission.
The size advantage got even more pronounced at times as Redondo’s 6-foot-4 Cameron Williams (the Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Shores Tournament the Seahawks won in the first week of the season) and 6-7 Wesley Gilbert were saddled with three personal fouls apiece in the first half.
There were long stretches of the second half in which the Gaels were taller at every position.
And the Gaels were even more effective (defensively) when they were in man-to-man, finding the Seahawks’ jump shooters (notably Ryse Williams, Morgan Means and Jailen Moore) more readily than they did earlier and also using the presence 7-foot Zach Collins (seven points, 13 rebounds and five blocks) to negate Redondo’s ability to beat defenders off the dribble.
The Gaels built their advantage to 10 points early in the second half before the tenacious Seahawks twice got to within three points.
The first time (with about six minutes) to go, the hosts responded with a stunning dunk by Collins (the most impressive I’ve seen in the first two day so of the event) by the Gonzaga-bound Collins and then a very deep 3 from the left corner by O’Bannon (his third of the contest).
Means (who turned in his second consecutive impressive effort with 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists) dropped in two free throws to get the Seahawks to within 59-56 with 33 seconds to go before O’Bannon and fellow 2017 class member Christian Popoola Jr. sank two freebies apiece down the stretch to secure the victory.
O’Bannon – who hit three 3s – finished with a game-high 22 points to go with five assists while the Gaels took advantage of more trips to the free throw line, hitting 18 of 23 attempts compared to Redondo’s eight of 11.
In other Platinum quarterfinal highlights Thursday:
*Senior guard Jervae Robinson turned in his second consecutive strong performance with 21 points to help Overland (the defending state champion in Colorado) keep Dillard at bay.
Robinson is one of the better prospects among uncommitted (to a college) guards in the West as he demonstrated with deep jumpers and often-spectacular finishes off the drive during the first two days.
*Brigham Young University-bound Yoeli Childs was oh-so-impressive in Bingham’s first-round win over L.A. Westchester Wednesday and was every bit as much so Thursday against a Centennial front court that is anchored by the 6-9 duo of future UCLA Bruins Ike Anigbogu (who signed a letter of intent last month) and junior Jalen Hill.
Childs scored 19 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds before fouling out with about four minutes to go – a big reason why Centennial was able to help shape a final score that was in no way indicative of the Utah squad’s overall dominance of the contest up until Childs’ departure to the bench.
Anigbogu had 24 points with a near-visual orgy of dunks and blocked shots down the stretch.
If the Collins rim-squashing slam was the most impressive dunk I’ve seen over the first two days, then Bingham 6-2 junior Dason Youngblood’s stunning, darn-near-Dr. J-style, under and around reverse layup against Anigbogu – while being fouled – qualifies as the most spectacular “non-dunk” field goal I’ve seen here.
Youngblood scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half while another junior, Honolulu transfer Samuta Avea chipped in with 14 points (two of those coming in oh-so-spectacular fashion at the end of one of the many Bingham transition opportunities) and senior Schyler Shoemaker added 17.
*Sagemont, which will take a 13-1 record into its game with Bishop Gorman Friday evening, has a tall and skilled junior class on its roster, as evidenced for the second night in a row from the play of 6-6 Tomas Verbinskis (a team-high 17 points against Prestonwood Christian Academy), 6-6 Luis Hurtado (a tenacious defender and rebounder who added 12 points Thursday night) and 6-8 Tyler Polley (who is oh-so-smooth, from both the perimeter and in the post).
A potential matchup pitting Sagemont’s 6-10 senior Nik Popovic against Bishop Gorman’s Zach Collins could be a dandy, too, in the Orleans Arena.
Seven-foot, 280-pound senior Schnider Herard (who signed with Mississippi State last month) helped keep Prestonwood Christian Academy within striking distance of Sagemont throughout the evening with 18 points.
Friday’s complete schedule at the Orleans Arena: (Gold Division championship semifinals) 10 a.m., Lynwood (CA) vs. Pasadena; 11:30, Las Vegas Clark vs. Troy (NY) Redemption Christian Academy; (“Prep School” games) 1 p.m., Dallas Advanced Prep International vs. Greenville (SC) 22-Foot Academy; 2:30, Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep vs. Houston Victory Prep; (Platinum Division championship semifinals) 4, South Jordan (UT) Bingham vs. Aurora (CO) Overland; 5:30, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman vs. Weston (FL) Sagemont; (Select Division championship semifinals) 7&8:30, to be determined (based upon quarterfinal action earlier Friday at Bishop Gorman).
Other Platinum Division games at Bishop Gorman: (fifth-place semifinals), Court 1, 6:40, Ft. Lauderdale Dillard vs. Corona (CA) Centennial; 8, Redondo Beach (CA) vs. Plano (TX) Prestonwood Christian Academy; (Consolation semifinals) Court 2, 2:40, Arlington (VA) O’Connell vs. L.A. Westchester; 4, Sacramento Sheldon vs. Pasadena Maranatha; (12th-place semifinals) Court 2, 5:20 p.m., Long Beach (CA) Poly vs. Las Vegas Desert Pines; 6:40, Provo Timpview vs. L.A. Cathedral.
