By JAMES KERTI
LAS VEGAS, NV – The annual Bishop Gorman-Findlay Prep contest headlined the Big City Showdown held at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion on Saturday.
The star-studded matchup of two of the nation’s best teams drew a sold-out crowd, which included UNLV’s Stacey Augmon, former UCLA standout Ed O’Bannon, and Philadelphia Phillies’ outfielder Shane Victorino.
Legendary former coaches George Raveling and Jerry Tarkanian took in the action together from court-side seats.
Here’s what we saw:
* Playa del Rey, CA, St. Bernard 77, Los Angeles Ribet Academy 64: 6-8 sophomore center Idrissa Diallo contributed 16 points on several athletic dunks for Ribet Academy. Diallo, who came to the U.S. from Senegal last year, made up for his rawness with a good motor and passed the ball with poise.
Without injured star freshman Tyler Dorsey in uniform, Ribet had trouble keeping up and trailed by double digits most of the game.
6-3 junior guard Brandon Randolph led St. Bernard with 24 points, most of them coming in the second half. His passing and ability to finish with contact impressed me.
Two St. Bernard freshmen, 6’9 Brodericks Jones and 6’7 Chance Comanche, caught my attention with their raw talent and basketball instincts. Jones displayed a solid mid-range jump shot as he tallied eight points and disrupted shots on defense. Comanche scored most of his points off cuts to the basket.
*Las Vegas Coronado 75, Las Vegas Foothill 72: Despite trailing by nine points in the third quarter, Coronado came back to force overtime on a last-second tip-in by Dominique Muhammad, and won on an overtime half-court buzzer beater from Teyshawn Campbell, who led the team with 19 points.
Coronado’s unsigned forwards Michael Louder and Lamar Walker used their length on defense to keep them in the game long enough for the team to prevail. Walker later defeated Louder in the finals of a dunk contest held during half-time of the Bishop Gorman-Findlay Prep game.
6-2 junior guard Brannon Cresanto led Foothill with a game-high 29 points, many of them coming at the charity stripe.
* Findlay Prep 73, Bishop Gorman 61: Bishop Gorman star Shabazz Muhammad scored 19 points, but hit just nine of 25 shots from the field. Thanks to his team’s numerous turnovers and stifling defense from Findlay Prep’s Winston Shepard, Muhammad struggled to score in the flow of the offense.
To make matters more difficult for Bishop Gorman, 6-8 senior Rosco Allen had trouble getting his shots to fall in the game.
Bishop Gorman’s 6-7 senior forward Ronnie Stanley and Findlay Prep’s 6-8 senior forward Brandon Ashley both found themselves in early foul trouble. Ashley, an Arizona signee, returned to make a major impact with his defense in the third quarter.
Findlay Prep led for most of the first half, but Bishop Gorman battled back to seize a 34-33 halftime lead after junior Rashad Muhammad hit a 3-pointer and 6’8 senior Ben Carter followed by dropping in a full court shot as the buzzer sounded.
With Findlay Prep forward Anthony Bennett sitting out with a pulled hamstring and the team trailing at the half, their highly praised backcourt stepped up.
Six-one senior guard Dominic Artis contributed 21 points for the game thanks to a great outside shot, and his seven assists kept his teammates involved. Like Bishop Gorman’s Carter, Artis signed with the University of Oregon in November.
Six-four junior Nigel Williams-Goss showcased his point guard play, adding 20 points of his own as he got into the lane at will and distributed the ball. His aggressive defense helped contribute to Bishop Gorman’s turnover troubles throughout the game.
Six-six senior guard Amedeo Della Valle showed his outside shot and his strength on both ends of the floor, this combination epitomized by his four-point play early in the game.
Led by its backcourt, Findlay Prep pulled away in the third quarter, which included 14 straight points at one stretch. They led by as many as 17 in the 2nd half.
Bishop Gorman battled back in the fourth quarter, as Shabazz Muhammad asserted himself and 6-9 senior Demetris Morant played strong.
The Gaels cut the deficit to nine points with under two minutes left in the game, but they couldn’t pull it any closer, as Findlay Prep prevailed.
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