Gaels with superb defense of home court Saturday

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  LAS VEGAS – Even though it represented the host school, Bishop Gorman High’s basketball program found itself as – so to speak — a collection of “envious onlookers” in the top (Platinum) bracket of competition in the first five years of the Tarkanian Classic.

  Based upon the results of Year 6 of the event and what took place over the past four days, however, it’s apparent that Coach Grant Rice’s Gaels have become quite comfortable – on and off the court – in playing hosts for one of the elite prep events in the sport.

   Twelve months after knocking off a fellow Las Vegas program (Clark) in the 2017 Platinum final, the Gaels rolled against an even more high-profile opponent in the Saturday night finale.

  Southern California’s Rancho Christian High Eagles, led by the tall and gifted Isaiah and Evan Mobley took a 10-0 record into Bishop Gorman gym, with notable victories over regional standouts such as Chino Hills (California’s State D-I champion last March), Chicago Simeon, Phoenix Pinnacle and – in a Friday night semifinal, Washington’s Federal Way, which is the best the Pacific Northwest has to offer this season.

  But Saturday night, the Mobley Brothers and their teammates were no match for Nevada’s best – not by a long shot.

 Or, as the 61-39 result illustrates succinctly, not by a whole lot of long shots . . .

   With five of the top six players from the squad that won the program’s seventh consecutive Nevada State title last spring on the floor for the tip-off, the Gaels were able to do more than just neutralize the dominating impact that 6-foot-11 Evan (a junior) and 6-9 older sibling Isaiah Mobley exerted on their first 10 opponents – offensively and defensively.

   Their ability to spread the Eagles’ defense almost always to the breaking point, with their crisp player and ball movement and patience usually leading to taking the shot-blocking Mobleys just far enough from the lane to prevent drivers and cutters from scoring.

  And, if they were able to halt those drives, passes were then delivered sharply to shooters with more than enough space to launch on-target jump shots, from the likes of Noah Taitz (who was to finish with 16 points) and Chance Michels (the event’s man-to-man defensive standout all week , who also hit a couple of 3s).

  Six-nine junior Isaiah Cottrell and 6-7 freshman Max Allen – who got quality minutes off the bench early when Cottrell picked up his second foul – also did their part to provide more than enough inside offensive punch.

  Cottrell’s most notable and emphatic contribution came with a bucket set up by a baseline drive from Taitz that forced Evan Mobley do lose just enough sight of Cottrell to prevent him from recovering and blocking the two-handed smash by Cottrell.

 The Mobleys combined for 18 points in the first half, largely (pun intended, of course) because of their ability to just go over the top of the Gaels for shots once they got the ball in their hands in or near the lane.

  But the Gaels ability to pressure dribblers and passers (the Big Brothers, included) – when the Mobleys were doing each of those things as well as when they were the ones trying to receive clean passes from teammates – is better summed up in the Eagles getting two points from non-Mobleys during a half that ended with them  trailing by 12 points.

   And they were closer than to within 10 with about nine or so more minutes to go.

  Cottrell, in easily his most forceful performance all week, also scored 16 points.

  Cottrell and Michels were all-tournament selections and Taitz, who was at his jump-shooting and drive-and-slamming best over four games, was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the division for the second year in a row.

   This time, though, he shared that honor with the program’s sophomore point guard Zaeon Collins, who was always in command of the team’s offensive attack that seemed to always leave the Eagles a step away from cutting off a driver, cutting or jump shooter while exploiting the absence of a shot clock in Nevada.

   Notable other all-tournament choices (from the other six divisions as well) included, but were not limited to:

  The Mobley Brothers and junior guard Jordan Montgomery from Rancho Christian; guard Jishai Miller and forward Jaden McDaniels (third-place Federal Way); center Josh Morgan (fourth-place Sacramento Sheldon); guard Isaiah Pope (fifth-place Orange Lutheran); post Onyeka Okongwu (sixth-place Chino Hlls); sophomore guard Jaden Hardy of Henderson Coronado (who scored 49 points in the overtime decision over Arizona’s Buckeye in the consolation final) and his backcourt mate, freshman Richard Isaacs Jr.; Otis Frazier (Buckeye) and forward Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale Dillard), as well as junior Julian Strawther (Henderson Liberty, who hooked up with Josh Christopher in a memorable Wednesday Nike bracket game in the Orleans Arena).

  Among the other divisional MOPs were Kyree Walker of Hillcrest Prep (National Prep School bracket); Josh Christopher of Lakewood Mayfair (Nike winner); forward Kobe Brown (of Eastbay winner Lee of Alabama); guard Nate Hansen (Timpview in Utah/his scored 44 points in division’s title game Saturday); and junior center Graham Ike (of Select Division champion Overland of Aurora, CO).