SUNSET BOYS: Jeter posts huge numbers as Gaels rout Palo Verde for seventh straight region title

Bishop Gorman boys basketball coach Grant Rice had to call an early timeout in Thursday’s Sunset Region semifinals to remind his players that the team had two of the top post players in the country.

The Gaels didn’t need a reminder on Friday.

Gorman got the ball inside to Chase Jeter early and often, and the 6-foot-11-inch senior was dominant, finishing with 35 points and 15 rebounds as the Gaels beat Palo Vede 82-46 at Arbor View for the Sunset Region title.

The Gaels (25-6) advance to next week’s state tournament. Palo Verde (19-9) will play Valley (26-4) at 7 p.m. Monday for the final berth at state.

“Against teams like this, we’ve got to take advantage of our size and our athletic ability,” Jeter said. “So going into this game, that was our mindset from the start.”

Jeter had 11 points in the first 4 minutes, 13 seconds of the game, and finished the first quarter with 17 points as the Gaels led 25-12.

“My teammates, they took care of me, and I took care of them today,” Jeter said. “It was just good chemistry all around today. And we need to really take this into next week and play with the same mentality and same goal.”

Jeter was 14-for-20 from the field and 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

“We changed it up a little bit,” Rice said. “We tried to find a few different ways to get the ball to the short corner and get the ball to the high post, and then obviously Chase Jeter pretty much clogged up the middle and dominated the game.”

Gorman consistently got the ball to one of its other big men in the high post and worked a high-low game to Jeter inside. Stephen Zimmerman, a 7-foot senior, had seven rebounds and six assists, and 6-11 junior Zach Collins added seven rebounds and three assists.

“We really focused in the second half on working that high-low,” Rice said. “Zim and Zach are such great passers from the high post and then Chase clogs up the middle and finishes around the rim. It’s almost a perfect combination when you get someone like Zim or Zach Collins in the high post who can pass or shoot the ball.”

Palo Verde closed to within 28-20 on a 3-pointer by Ja Morgan with 3:58 to go in the first half. But that was as close as the Panthers would get, and Gorman extended its lead to 62-37 after three quarters.

It was the second straight big game for Jeter, who had 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 93-52 win over Bonanza on Thursday.

“We’ve always been so balanced,” Rice said. “It’s been different, but Chase has really been dominating the inside. But once again, that’s a testament to the guys getting him the ball, which is something we’ve really talked about and really stressed.”

Gorman held Palo Verde to 8 of 30 shooting (26.7 percent) in the second half, as the Gaels got great movement in their 2-3 zone to cut off open looks.

“The offense was good, but I thought the defense was really, really good,” Rice said. “We really focused on getting out to their shooters. I respect those guys so much. Even tonight in the first half they hit some huge shots with 6-11, 7-foot guys in their face and hands up. Palo’s such a good and dangerous team. I was really happy with the way we got around screens on defense.”

Nick Blair added 15 points and five rebounds for Gorman, and Richie Thornton had nine assists. Zimmerman, who was part of his 112th win at Gorman, added two steals and two blocked shots. Zimmerman matched former Gael Noah Robotham for most wins as a player. The Sunset title was the seventh straight for Gorman.

“We knew Palo was going to come at us,” Jeter said. “They’re a tough team, so going out here and getting this win the way we did tonight was very special for us, and a good win heading into next week.”

Grant Dressler led Palo Verde with 17 points, but was just 1-for-6 from the field in the second half. Morgan added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Panthers.