Game of the Year: Bishop Gorman beats Liberty in thrilling double-overtime basketball affair

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | 2 a.m.

This late-December night of basketball had a little bit of everything: multiple buzzer beaters, two overtimes, a packed gym to watch undefeated rivals square off, plenty of Division I talent and much drama.

Bishop Gorman trailed Liberty by 18 points in the first half of the championship game of the Tarkanian Classic, but came back to prevail 97-95 in double overtime. The Gaels’ John Mobley Jr. drained a 12-footer at the buzzer of the second extra period.

Gorman appeared to have won at the end of the first overtime when Ryder Elisaldez’s halfcourt heave went through the net, but the referees correctly ruled time had expired.

The late heroics helped Gorman win despite a memorable night from Liberty’s Joshua Jefferson, who tallied a game-high 41 points. Gorman’s Ryan Abelman scored nine of his team-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime, where he hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to tie the score before Elisaldez’s near game-winner.

Liberty and Gorman would meet three more times, with the former losing the next two before prevailing in the state championship game, but the early-season Tarkanian Classic clash has been called the best local game in decades.

“That was one of those nights you’ll never forget,” Gorman senior Darrion Williams said.