Gaels put game in Loyd’s hands, advance to Holiday Classic final

Bishop Gorman's boys basketball team had seen a 12-point halftime lead disappear against LaVerne (Calif.) Lutheran.

Then Johnathan Loyd took over.

The senior point guard scored 11 points in the final 2:18 to carry the Gaels to a 74-66 victory in the semifinals of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic on Friday.

"We want to get the ball in John Loyd's hands," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "He's fearless. We'd go to war with him anytime. We love the kid."

Gorman will play Bishop McNamara (Md.) for the title at 6:20 p.m. today at Gorman. The Gaels are gunning for their second consecutive tournament title.

Loyd hit 9 of 11 free throws down the stretch and had a team-high 27 points.

LaVerne Lutheran had tied the game at 59 on Grant Jerrett's two free throws with 2:30 to play. But Loyd made two free throws, then had a steal and layup and Gorman was able to hold on.

Senior Anson Winder, who has signed to play at Brigham Young, carried the Gaels early, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first half.

"We ran some set plays for (Winder) and he did a really good job of attacking the basket," Rice said. "We talked about not settling for the jump shots, and Anson did a good job of getting to the basket and finishing with his athleticism."

Winder had four alley-oop dunks, all on passes from Loyd.

"Those are our big two guys right now, the guys with the most experience, so we put the ball in their hands in the second half and they both produced," Rice said.

Loyd and Winder helped offset a terrific game by Jerrett. The 6-foot-8-inch post player had 31 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 19-for-20 at the free-throw line, part of LaVerne Lutheran's 31-for-32 foul shooting as a team.

Gorman capitalized on the Trojans' 17 turnovers, turning them into 19 points.

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.