Big City Showdown basketball event at South Point not only about Gorman, Findlay Prep

By Jesse Granger

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Southern Nevada’s two basketball heavyweights will meet again Saturday at the South Point Arena in the ninth Big City Showdown.

And like any good prizefight in Las Vegas, the highly anticipated game between Bishop Gorman and Findlay Prep will be preceded by an entertaining undercard of games.

The Gaels and Pilots will tip at 6 p.m. after four games that are each expected to be competitive, starting with a girls tilt at 11:30 a.m. between defending Sunrise champion Liberty and perennial power Gorman.

That will be followed by the Liberty boys against Durango, a rematch of last year’s 3A title game between Clark and Desert Pines, and a battle between 4A powers Centennial and Coronado.

“It’s more the city of Las Vegas than it is for Bishop Gorman and Findlay Prep,” Bishop Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “The city really comes out to support it, and the South Point has been a great host. It’s a good basketball venue and there isn’t a bad seat in the house.”

Organizers of the event, which has sold out in past years, again expect a big crowd, especially considering three McDonald's All-Americans — Centennial’s Troy Brown Jr., Bishop Gorman’s Chuck O’Bannon Jr. and Findlay Prep’s P.J. Washington — are scheduled to play.

“We worked to try to create these matchups in the summer, and I am really happy the way it came together,” Rice said.

P.J. Washington, whose father Paul Washington coaches Findlay Prep, is the No. 16 recruit for the class of 2017 by ESPN and is committed to Kentucky. Brown is right behind him at No. 17 in the country and is committed to Oregon. O’Bannon is ranked 34th and is committed to USC.

O’Bannon was key to Bishop Gorman’s 77-71 win over Findlay Prep last year, scoring a team-high 25 points, and scored 18 points against the Pilots as a sophomore in 2015.

“Last year he was the best player on the court when we won that game,” Rice said. “He’s looking forward to it, and in big games he seems to play his best. I’m always going to roll with Chuck O’Bannon when the game is on the line.”

Bishop Gorman has won two of the last three matchups after Findlay Prep won the first six games. Findlay Prep has revenge on its mind.

“This is the biggest game in Nevada every year and our goal is to win it,” coach Washington said. “We definitely want to win convincingly and leave no doubt who the better team is, and that Findlay is a national power.”

The Pilots enter ranked No. 8 nationally by USA Today with a 19-3 record. They’ve already played eight teams that were ranked in the top 25.

“The game plan is to get the toughest schedule that we can,” coach Washington said. “It gets us prepared for nationals in March and April. We’ve been on TV and traveling a lot, so it’s been tough, but we are just glad to be back in Las Vegas and excited to see some of our local fan base.”

The Pilots will hold a significant height advantage over Bishop Gorman, with six players 6-foot-7 or taller. O’Bannon and Jamal Bey are the Gaels’ tallest players at only 6-foot-6, and Gorman has pieced its lineup together all season without a true post player.

“The roles are kind of reversed this year as far as size wise,” Rice said. “It’s no different from some of the other national games we’ve played. We’ve been undersized all season. We’ve already talked about their rebounding and how they control the glass. P.J. Washington comes to mind as a big power forward. He does a lot for their team.”

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at South Point box office or online at Ticketmaster.

“We put a lot of emphasis on every game on the schedule, but this one better mean something more to them,” Paul Washington said. “When you think of football you think of Bishop Gorman, and when you think of basketball we want you to continue to think of Findlay Prep.”