Monday, March 3, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
RENO -- Before they were old enough to actually create memories, Shane Christensen, Kendall Soares and Moe Terry were content with daydreaming about making them.
Theirs was a simple wish, not unlike that of a thousand other young boys in Las Vegas for whom basketball was religion. The wish? When they were old enough, go out and a win a high school state championship.
"I've been with Shane and Moe since the third grade," Soares said. "We came up together, junior high, then the JV ... we've always been thinking about winning state together."
They got their wish Saturday night in Reno. Bishop Gorman upended Galena 53-39 for Nevada's first Class 4A state title. Prior to this tournament, there never had been anything higher than a 3A state champion.
"Three best friends," a beaming Soares said in the halls of the Lawlor Events Center. "That's what makes it even better."
The Gaels, so agonizingly close the last five years to capturing the school's sixth state championship, undeniably were Nevada's best team in Reno. They won three games by a combined 44 points, avenged two bitter defeats to Valley with an impressive 68-55 semifinal win and then overcame a rather boisterous crowd of 7,000 at Lawlor on Saturday night.
Most of them hoping to see the Grizzlies make history; Galena hadn't even qualified for the Northern Zone tournament before this season, let alone reach the state finals.
But once there, the Gaels were masters as they engaged Galena in a game of cat-and-mouse. Just who was playing which role was not clearly defined until the second half, when Gorman's wonder-to-behold 1-3-1 'amoeba' defense throttled everything Galena tried. Christensen and Soares, seniors playing the final game of their career, put a stamp on marvelous careers with showstopping work.
Christensen's 18 points should be mentioned -- it was second to Soares' 19 -- but, really, it was his smothering defense on Galena sophomore Lance Buoncristiani which sealed the Grizzlies' fate. Buoncristiani scored 38 points and made eight 3-pointers in Galena's first two games.
Christensen, however, was more than equal to the task. He shut down Buoncristiani with shocking ease, limiting him to one bomb and seven points. In fact, at halftime, Buoncristiani had more fouls (three) than points (two).
When Christensen came off the floor at the end of the game, Bishop Gorman coach Jeff Wagonseller gave him a giant bear hug. You got the sense that both knew what Christensen's effort meant.
"When I came up as a sophomore ... I've been through what he's going through," Christensen said. "I knew exactly how to play him."
Wagonseller was even more generous, saying, "He won the game with his defense."
And just like that, as Gorman let the warmth of their fans' love wash over them on Lawlor's floor, the Gaels had somehow lost the nasty taste left in their mouths after Durango beat them in the finals last season. What made that especially tough to swallow was that it was the fourth loss Gorman suffered to Durango in the final two weeks.
"Coming back after that loss took a lot of wind out of our sails," Wagonseller admitted. "Nobody figured us coming back. But for every championship team, from college to the pros, they always talk about it being a special team coming together. That's what this was."
As for what lies ahead, it depends. Christensen has signed with Montana. Soares is desired by a small handful of Division-I schools in California. Terry, a junior, takes over for his good pal Christensen.
Next September, when the temperature outside is 100 degrees and it's still a month before official practice begins, Terry and the other returners will be boning up on their games.
"You know, you work so damn hard, you have to question whether you want to go through that again. It's not easy," Wagonseller said, referring to the team's despondence a year ago. "But they did."
And fulfilled a lifelong dream. Literally.
"We've been talking about this," Christensen said, "since we were three years old. You can't end it any better than this. This is so wonderful."
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