Bishop Gorman beats Florida school to reach tourney title game

By Jesse Granger

Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 | 8:45 p.m.

Bishop Gorman isn’t just co-hosting the biggest high school basketball tournament of the year in Las Vegas — it is trying to win it as well.

The school has yet to win the Tarkanian Classic despite hosting it for several years, a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players and coaches.

Friday night the Gaels moved a step closer to winning its first title by taking out Sagemont High (Florida) 60-44 in the semifinal matchup at the Orleans Arena.

“It’s huge,” Bishop Gorman senior center Zach Collins said. “This Tarkanian Tournament means a lot to us. We’ve never won it and it’s been at our school, so this is one of the things we have been harping on in the preseason. We just really want to get this tournament, and it’s obviously the first year since Tarkanian passed, so it’s big.”

Collins, a 7-foot Gonzaga commit, dominated the paint, racking up 8 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.

But as impressive as the five blocks were, he altered shots and blocked nearly a dozen others. Collins frustrated Sagemont big man Nik Popovic all game long, holding him to only 8 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

“They went to him at all times, and it’s just a credit to Zach playing great defense,” Bishop Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “He blocks shots when he can but doesn’t try to block everything. I think that’s a problem with most big guys, trying to block too many shots instead of just playing solid defense.”

Collins only attempted five shots all night but ended up with three assists — one off a game high.

“A lot of teams are starting to double and triple-team Zach, and he’s such a complete player that it is actually working to our advantage because he’s making the right pass and the right play,” Rice said.

Collins dished the ball to the game’s leading scorer Chuck O’Bannon with regularity.

“I just hope that I can make as many plays as I can to help our team win,” Collins said. “Whether that is scoring, rebounding, blocking or giving it to the guy that is hot. (O’Bannon) was our hot hand tonight, and if he’s hot we have to give it to him.”

O’Bannon, a five-star recruit, according to ESPN, with offers from Kansas, UCLA, Arizona, Oklahoma, UNLV and many more, led all scorers with 15 points.

“Chuck can score in a variety of ways,” Rice said. “Jump shots, attacking the basket and little flip shots that he has.”

O’Bannon put the icing on the cake for the Gaels when he threw down a vicious one-handed dunk on a fast break in the second half, bringing the crowd to its feet.

Byron Frohnen also pitched in 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the Gaels.

The blowout victory sends Bishop Gorman to the championship game Saturday night against Overland High (Colorado) in the Gaels’ home gym.

They will be looking for their first title in the tournament, which attracts some of the best teams in the nation. This year’s field includes over 90 teams from 18 states, as well as teams from Canada, New Zealand, Australian and the Bahamas.

“It’s great for all of the Las Vegas teams in this tournament,” Rice said. “It’s a credit to Las Vegas basketball that they’ve stepped up and are getting to play some good competition.”

The games are played at Faith Lutheran, Desert Oasis, the Orleans Arena and, of course, Bishop Gorman.

It creates an interesting dynamic with Gaels’ coaches simultaneously organizing events and trying to navigate their team through a tournament stacked with talent.

“It really is tough. I joke with the coaches that we don’t have any time to prepare for the game so we can’t mess it up,” Rice said. “We watch the team we are going to play for a few minutes, but we are so busy that’s about it, so sometimes that’s an advantage not to over-coach.”

Saturday night’s championship game tips off at 6:20 p.m. and tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children.