NORWALK, Ca. – Consistently excellent back-court play – and exceptional depth – were trademarks of the Bishop Gorman squad during its three-game run at Cerritos College
And that’s why the Gaels players and coaches returned via chartered-bus to Las Vegas Sunday evening with the championship of the in the fifth Ron Massey Memorial Hoops Fall Classic.
Coach Grant Rice’s squad, which opened the run with a 20-point victory over its Harvard-Westlake counterpart Saturday night then pulled away for a 65-51 semifinal win against Mater Dei Sunday morning.
A few hours later the Gaels, after building a 10-point advantage, held off Bishop Montgomery, 59-57, for the title – which wasn’t secured until Knights’ guard Josh Vazquez missed a 14-footer that would have sent the game into a two-minute overtime.
Junior Noah Taitz (PICTURED) – one of the better “shooting guard” prospects in the western Class of 2020 – scored 21 points in the title game and was chosen the Most Outstanding Player of the eight-team “Challenge of Champions” bracket.
Rice (whose program has won seven consecutive Nevada state championships) also got terrific play from sophomore point guard Zaon Collins as well as from senior Chance Michels.
The Gaels, who started two other underclassmen in 6-9 junior Isaiah Cottrell and 6-3 Will McClendon, also got solid contributions off the bench from, among others, junior Mwani Wilkinson, sophomore Jonathan Braggs and freshman Max Allen.
Collins added 11 points for the Gaels while Vazquez (who missed Saturday’s game because he was visiting the University of Montana) scored 13 points and senior forward Will Crawford 16 for Bishop Montgomery.
Cottrell led Bishop Montgomery with 18 points against Mater Dei while Taitz added 17 and McClendon 16.
Sophomores Wilhelm Breidenbach and Devin Askew scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Mater Dei.
Bishop Montgomery got 15 points from senior forward Nick Schrader in its 78-65 toppling of Rancho Christian in the other semifinal Sunday morning junior forward Isaiah Johnson (a transfer from Crean Lutheran) and senior guard Jordan Archie added 13 apiece.
Senior Isaiah Mobley led Rancho Christian with 21 points while sophomore forward Luke Turner added 16 (including four 3s).
The all-tournament team as selected event founder and director Dinos Trigonis (with input from “scouting-types” in attendance, FYI):
MOP – Noah Taitz (Bishop Gorman/6-3 Jr.)
Devin Askew (Mater Dei/6-4 So.)
Jaylen Clark (Corona Centennial/6-5 Jr.)
Zaon Collins (Bishop Gorman/5-11 So.)
Will Crawford (Bishop Montgomery/6-6 Sr.)
Isaiah Johnson (Bishop Montgomery/6-7 Jr.)
Jaden Hardy (Henderson, NV, Coronado/6-4 So.)
Jake Kyman (Santa Margarita/6-7 Sr.)
Evan Mobley (Rancho Christian/6-11 Jr.)
Isaiah Mobley (Rancho Christian/6-9 Jr.)
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