Hot shooting lifts Gorman past Mojave in state title game rematch — PHOTOS
Tyler Bright scored only three points for Bishop Gorman on Tuesday night.
But the biggest player on the floor found other ways to make a big impact for the Gaels’ boys basketball team.
Bright finished with five rebounds, five assists and six blocked shots to help second-ranked Gorman to an 81-58 road victory over Mojave in a rematch of last season’s Class 5A state title game.
On offense, most of the 6-foot-9-inch Bright’s assists came when he passed the ball out of the post to open perimeter shooters. The Gaels (12-7, 3-0 Class 5A Southern League) were amazing from the perimeter, knocking down 17 3-pointers.
“Our ball movement as a team is great,” said senior guard Dino Roberts, who hit three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. “Tyler’s a great passer. I think he’s one of the best big-man passers in the country. So him moving the ball, finding us from the block, is very important.”
Starting guards Roberts and Ty Johnson each hit three 3-pointers, but it wasn’t just the guards who were making shots from distance. Seven Gorman players had at least one 3-pointer, and four of them stand 6-5 or taller.
“All of us are confident in our shooting,” Roberts said. “So when we move the ball and play as a team, I think we just all knock the 3s down.”
Gorman led 16-15 when Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to start a 12-1 run that helped the Gaels take control. Gorman was 17-for-36 (47.2 percent) on 3-pointers for the game, and the Gaels were 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) in the middle quarters.
“I think that was Mojave’s game plan, it sounded like, to let us shoot,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “Both our point guards, Tyler Johnson and Dino Roberts, they like to penetrate and kick, but we kind of saw they were going under the screens and they were backing off.”
Johnson and Hudson Dannels each scored 15 points to lead the Gaels. Dannels, a 6-8 sophomore, came off the bench to hit five second-half 3-pointers.
Braylen Williams added 12 points for Gorman, and Kameron Cooper had a game-high eight rebounds.
Mojave (13-5, 0-2) seemed to struggle against Gorman’s 2-3 zone. The Rattlers were 18-for-56 (32.1 percent) from the field. When Mojave was able to penetrate the zone, Bright usually was there to alter or block shots near the rim.
“He’s big and strong,” Rice said. “When he puts his hands straight up, he impacts the game on the defensive end quite a bit.”
The Gaels have won three straight games — league wins over Desert Pines, Coronado and Mojave. Desert Pines and Coronado are ranked in the top five in Class 5A.
“Early on, we played some tough teams, and that made us really battle-tested,” Roberts said. “So now we’re building on it and starting to find our groove.”
Phillip Gordon came off the bench to score 16 points to pace the Rattlers.
