Liberty’s Dedan Thomas Jr. (11) and Angelo Kambala (2) celebrate a play during the first half of a basketball game against Bishop Gorman at Bishop Gorman High School Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 | 10:22 p.m.
Whenever the Liberty High basketball team needed to make a big shot, many observers in the gym at Bishop Gorman on Wednesday assumed the ball would go to standout guard Dedan Thomas Jr.
Instead, it went to Angelo Kambala. And on other possessions, it was Andre Porter.
Thomas poured in a game-high 26 points to go along with 10 assists, but Kambala was also unstoppable in scoring 20 points on 4 of 7 shooting on 3-pointers as defending state champion Liberty made a statement with a 78-55 win over perennial power Gorman in a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s title game.
Gorman had its streak of nine straight titles snapped last February by Liberty. On Wednesday, the Patriots’ confirmed the win and delivered a message: We are the team to beat.
“We knew we’d win this game. We had that confidence,” Thomas said. “This was a really big win for us, and a really big statement to the city.”
Liberty never trailed and used a 10-0 scoring run to build a 22-9 advantage early in the second quarter. By halftime, the lead was 19 points.
Jase Richardson made a pair of 3-pointers to open the third quarter for Gorman, and it appeared the Gaels were going to mount a comeback. But Liberty called a timeout and put the ball in the hands of Kambala, a senior guard, who scored on consecutive possessions to halt the Gorman rally.
“Everyone thinks DJ is a one-man show,” Liberty coach Kevin Soares said. “We want everybody to understand that we have other guys who can play, especially (Kambala). When he is hitting (his outside shots), it opens things up for everybody else.”
Not only did Liberty beat Gorman, the Patriots likely handed Gorman its most-lopsided home defeat at the school’s Summerlin campus. Gorman moved from Maryland Parkway to Summerlin in the late 2000s.
And while some in the basketball community are surprised with the margin of victory, Soares has a different take.
“We aren’t surprised. We knew we were going to win,” the coach said.
Of course, this was simply a Class 5A regular season game and the teams will likely met again in next month’s playoffs. And remember, Gorman won all three meetings against Liberty last season before coming up short in the championship game.
If anything, the outcome will provide motivation for both teams moving forward.
Gorman will use the setback as a wakeup call, having a few short weeks to make adjustments ahead of the playoffs. And Liberty now has even more swagger than what was on display Wednesday, when Kambala confidently knocked down shots and Porter was a scoring threat from multiple spots on the court. He finished with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
“It was a group effort, and everyone stepped in,” Thomas said, quickly listing most of his teammates. “Our bench was big.”
Liberty improves to 13-7 overall, and Soares will argue each of those seven defeats are equally as important as beating Gorman. The Patriots played a tough nonleague schedule of out-of-state opponents, getting better in the process with the goal of repeating as champions.
That goal certainly seems more realistic after one impressive win.
“Gorman is a great program. They set the standard for Nevada and on the west coast,” Soares said. “We just have to keep doing what we are doing because we are making a name for ourselves.”
Gorman, which on Tuesday battled to a one-point win against Arbor View, was out of rhythm offensively most of the night. The Gaels only connected on 40% of their field goal attempts, including making just 5 of 18 on 3-pointers. Keenan Bey had 13 points to pace Gorman.
