Coronado claims 1st win over Bishop Gorman in boys basketball — PHOTOS
Everything was lining up perfectly for Coronado’s boys basketball team to claim its first win over Bishop Gorman in program history Saturday night at the Big City Showdown.
The Cougars led the whole game and were playing in front of a packed home gym, which was hosting the seven-game event. Junior wing Lantz Stephenson helped the home crowd get the celebration started early.
Stephenson grabbed a loose ball off a Gorman miss, raced down the floor and finished with an emphatic one-handed dunk with under a minute left to put Coronado back ahead by double digits.
The Cougars, No. 4 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, controlled from the start and never looked back for a 74-63 home win over No. 2 Gorman in the final game of the Big City Showdown.
“Although it’s the regular season, it’s good for our guys to get it done,” said Coronado coach Jeff Kaufman, who was 0-9 against Gorman entering Saturday. “I’m proud of them for getting the win. … It’s good, but we still have a long way to go. It’s just one game.”
Stephenson led Coronado (13-8, 6-0 Class 5A Southern League) with 21 points, and senior guard Josiah Cunningham scored 19. All of Coronado’s scoring came from its starting lineup, with all five starters scoring in double figures.
“We’re not that deep and our guys have to suck it up and go, and they’ve been doing it all year,” Kaufman said. “I’m really proud of them. They were tired, but they found a lot of energy. “
Coronado led 31-20 at halftime and grew its lead with an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter. Gorman (16-4, 6-1) slowly chipped away at the deficit and trailed 48-41 entering the fourth quarter.
Coronado matched every Gorman basket in the fourth. When Gaels forward Jett Washington hit a 3-pointer with over three minutes left to cut the deficit to four points, the Cougars closed the game on a 12-4 run to secure the win.
“They’re just tough,” Kaufman said. “They’re a bunch of tough kids that just want to win.”
Sophomore guard Jonny Collins added 13 points for Coronado, and junior forwards Tee Bartlett and JJ Buchanan each scored 10.
Senior guard Ryder Elisaldez paced Gorman with 19 points, and freshman forward Ilan Nikolov scored 16. Washington finished with 13 points.
— No. 1 Liberty 62, No. 3 Arbor View 50: Playing its second game in a row, Liberty was a “little tired” after an “up-tempo” win over Silverado on Friday, coach Kevin Soares said.
In a tight, low-scoring game, the top-ranked Patriots made all 15 of their fourth-quarter free throws to help them grind out a victory over the Aggies.
“It was a quick turnaround for us, so we looked a little sluggish,” Soares said. “But you know what, I give the kids a ton of credit. They found a way to win and we gutted it out.”
Sophomore point guard Tyus Thomas scored nine of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to help Liberty pull out the win.
“He’s a true point guard,” Soares said of Tyus Thomas, the younger brother of UNLV point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. “The more he plays, the better he gets. He’s starting to figure things out and his teammates out.”
Senior guard Jace Aquiningoc scored 11 points off the bench for Liberty (14-1, 5-0 Class 5A Southern League), and junior guard Jaden Riley added 10. Arbor View had defeated Liberty 67-53 in a tournament game Dec. 22.
Pharaoh Compton threw down a one-handed dunk in transition and made an ensuing free throw to get Arbor View (14-7, 5-2) within two points. The Aggies wouldn’t score again in over four minutes as the Patriots went on an 11-0 run to put the game away.
“That was our defense,” Soares said. “We locked in on defense … which helped our transition offense.”
Neither team led by more than five points until Liberty pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Compton, a San Diego State commit, led Arbor View with 15 points, and senior guard Maximus Romero added 12 points.
Other boys scores
Legacy 62, Desert Pines 52
Spring Valley 79, Mojave 72
Sierra Vista 71, Rancho 69
Foothill 66, Las Vegas 43
Girls
— No. 2 Centennial 68, No. 1 Bishop Gorman 57: Bulldogs coach Karen Weitz said she was a little worried to see how her young team would start Saturday in a matchup of the top two girls basketball teams in the state.
Jumping out to an early double-digit lead helped calm her worries.
Centennial, winner of eight straight state titles, took a 15-point first-quarter lead and withstood several runs to pull away for the victory.
“We started and we had lots of energy,” Weitz said. “I was a little worried because we have some young kids that haven’t really played for the program that long, but I thought for the environment, they did well.”
Senior guard Danae Powell scored 22 points and freshman forward Nation Williams added 18 points for the Bulldogs (11-4, 6-0 Class 5A Southern League).
Gorman (15-4, 6-1) cut Centennial’s lead to 44-40 midway through the third quarter, but the Bulldogs closed with a 10-2 run to regain momentum.
“We didn’t start out great in the second half, and during the timeouts, we continued to challenge them,” Weitz said. “‘Can you feel the lapse in energy right now?’ The bench was feeling it too and not just the coaches. They responded well.”
Williams scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half.
“I saw the four points at halftime and said we need to get (Williams) more touches,” Weitz said. “We have to get it inside more, and we adjusted what we did offensively to get her some more touches and get her going, and that also gets her rebounding better.”
Centennial scored the first nine points, and Gorman didn’t score its first points until 3:46 left in the first quarter.
Sophomore guard Aaliah Spaight led Gorman with 17 points but scored just four in the second half. Freshmen guards Addysen Carr had 16 points and Kenzee Holton scored 15 for the Gaels. Senior guard Jada Price added 11 points for Centennial.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
