Jeff Mulvihill Jr. / Special to the Sun
Bishop Gorman players are presented the state championship trophy after beating Coronado in the title game at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
Published Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 | 6:30 p.m.
Updated Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 | 9:47 p.m.
This one was over in a hurry.
The Bishop Gorman High basketball team scored 15 unanswered points to open tonight’s Division I state championship game against Coronado, using 26 points from junior Chuck O’Bannon Jr. in a 83-63 victory for the Gaels’ fifth straight state championship.
Gorman led 25-6 after the first quarter and extended the lead with eight quick second quarter points from O’Bannon. He buried a pair of 3-pointers, and then made an acrobatic dunk on an alley-oop pass from Christian Popoola to show why he’s one of the nation’s top 2017 recruits.
Unofficially, Popoola had 17 points for Gorman, Byron Frohnen had 12, and Zach Collins had 10.
Coronado used a 7-0 scoring run late in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 21 points by halftime, but never seriously threatened. Nick Davis had a team-high 18 points for Coronado and Kennedy Koehler added 14, unofficially.
Check back later for more coverage.
Pregame: Gorman playing for fifth straight state championship
When the Bishop Gorman High basketball team reaches the state championship game, the perennial power Gaels seem to always win.
Four-time defending state champion Gorman takes on Coronado at 8:10 tonight for the Division-I title at UNR’s Lawlor Events Center, playing for the program’s ninth state championship since Grant Rice became the coach in 2002. They’ve never lost in the finals with Rice as coach.
Coronado, which opened in 2001, is playing for the program’s first championship. Thursday, the Cougars won a state tournament game for the first time. Gorman, on the other hand, could break a record tonight with 18 all-time championships.
Coronado, though, doesn’t lack confidence. It lost to Gorman by 22 points in December, but had a miserable night shooting the ball and was limited to just four second-quarter points.
Gorman is led by 7-foot center Zach Collins, a McDonald’s All-American who will be a matchup problem in the post for Coronado. And on the perimeter, Gorman has an edge in athleticism with 2017 standouts Chuck O’Bannon Jr. and Christian Popoola.
Coronado counters for 6-foot-5 win Jake DesJardins, who can score from the inside and out, and senior post Kennedy Koehler. They’ve given the Cougars a one-two punch to make it this far.
We’ll keep everyone posted once the game starts. Join the conversation on Twitter by using #sunstandout or #702hshoops.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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