No. 2 Gorman boys basketball handles No. 3 Centennial — PHOTOS
Nick Jefferson is the kind of point guard who looks to get his teammates involved before looking for his own shot.
But when Bishop Gorman needs a bucket, Jefferson can provide that, too.
The senior scored a game-high 24 points Tuesday to lead the Gaels, No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, to an 80-62 road win over No. 3 Centennial.
“You know he wants to pass the ball first, but there are times when we need to score, you know he can get to the basket,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “He’s a great shooter, but he would rather have 10 assists than 20 points. But he can do a little bit of everything.”
After a slow start, Jefferson scored 13 second-quarter points to help the Gaels take control. He scored eight points during a 12-4 run that saw Gorman (18-5, 8-1 5A Southern League) push its lead to 31-19.
“We just had to settle down,” Jefferson said. “I’m the leader, so I’ve got to make sure that everybody on the court is settled down and calm. Everyone’s a little excited because they know it’s a big game, high-energy game, so we just had to come out and calm down and make sure to focus on the game plan.”
Jefferson was 7-for-13 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also made 8 of 9 free throws and added five rebounds, four assists and five steals.
The Gaels also got a big lift off the bench from Jett Washington and Tyler Johnson, who combined for 26 points.
“They talk about all the time how they come off the bench and be a spark plug,” Jefferson said. “And it shows in every game. They always come in and play hard, play defense. They never complain about the ball. They always just want to do whatever it takes to win.”
Washington, who is considered one of the top football prospects in the junior class, finished with 12 points, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Johnson had 14 points, two rebounds and two steals.
“We love the energy that Tyler gives us off the bench with his defense — probably the best defender in the state on the ball — and then with his attack on the basket and jump stop and his athleticism,” Rice said. “And Jett speaks for himself. He’s a special, special athlete.”
Centennial packed its half of the gym, and the Bulldogs came out with good energy early, scoring the first six points of the game before back-to-back baskets by Chris Baudreau got the Gaels going.
Gorman led 45-35 at the half and extended its lead to 26 in the fourth quarter. Baudreau finished with eight points, six rebounds and five blocks, and Ilan Nikolov had eight points and six assists for the Gaels.
Junior guard Jaxon Price had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals to lead Centennial (3-19, 3-5). The Bulldogs were forced to forfeit 18 victories last week for using an ineligible player, but they remain in position to earn a postseason berth.
Bryce Iwuoha had 15 points and six rebounds for Centennial.
“Earlier in the season, maybe a couple games ago, we talked about playoff modes,” Jefferson said. “So now we treat every game like a playoff game. We treat every game like the state championship game, because that’s where we want to be.”
