Reno’s Bishop Manogue upsets Gorman, will face Canyon Springs for 4A title

A private school with a name that begins "Bishop" won on Thursday night to advance to today's Class 4A boys state title game.

But it wasn't the Bishop everyone expected.

Niles Lujan scored 23 points as Bishop Manogue from Reno shocked two-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman 45-44 at Orleans Arena.

Manogue (25-5) will play Canyon Springs (28-2) for the title at 8 p.m. today.

"It's an amazing feeling," Lujan said. "Last year they beat us in the semis, and our goal from the moment we lost was to come back here and win. It's just a great feeling. It's irreplaceable."

Gorman (25-6) led 44-43 with less than 30 seconds left. Instead of holding onto the ball, the Gaels worked it inside to Ronnie Stanley.

But Stanley's shot didn't fall, and Zachery McElroy grabbed the rebound for the Miners.

Manogue pushed the ball down the court, and Ethan Dillard's driving layup with nine seconds left put the Miners ahead, 45-44.

"We should have held the ball, and we forced it inside," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "There was some contact in there, obviously, but we didn't expect that call there at the end."

Gorman called timeout with 7.4 seconds left. The Gaels, ranked No. 15 nationally by USA Today, got the ball to freshman point guard Noah Robotham, who drove the length of the court.

Robotham got into the lane, but his layup rimmed off. Shabazz Muhammad got a tip, but that missed as well, and Manogue's Obim Okeke grabbed the rebound as time expired.

"We wanted him to penetrate and if they closed it off to (pass)," Rice said. "He got to the basket. We had a good attempt, Shabazz had his hands on the ball, and he didn't put it in, either. So we had two chances."

Gorman hurt itself with sloppy play, turning the ball over 18 times, including 12 in the first half. Manogue had only 12 turnovers.

"It's not a shock the way we played," Rice said. "It's not a shock. They're a good team. They competed with us last year, and they beat us this year. I'm not shocked. They outplayed us tonight. They made big plays when they needed to, and we didn't finish."

Lujan, who had 16 points in the second half, made most of those big plays. He had 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers when Gorman threatened to pull away.

Muhammad, Gorman's leading scorer and one of the nation's top juniors, spent a good portion of the second half on the bench and finished with nine points.

Ben Carter led Gorman with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

■ Canyon Springs 70, Sierra Vista 68 -- Trey Evans saved Canyon Springs' season for the second time this postseason.

The reserve guard hit a runner in the lane with five second remaining to force overtime, and the Pioneers (28-2) rallied to defeat the Mountain Lions (25-7).

"That's why he's on the floor quite a bit," Canyon Springs coach Daryl Branham said of his sixth man. "He comes up big in big games. He doesn't stop."

In the Sunrise Region semifinals, Evans had a rebound basket as time expired to give the Pioneers a 69-68 win over Foothill. This time he shot the Pioneers into the state title game.

"I'm a senior, and I have to step up because this is it for me," Evans said. "No more games after this."

Sierra Vista kept the ball out of the hands of Canyon Springs standout Michael Thompson as time wound down. But Evans took advantage.

After Evans kept the game alive, Jared Brandon helped clinch it in the extra period. Brandon scored five of his 19 points in overtime, including a three-point play with 1:15 remaining that gave the Pioneers a 66-65 lead.

Sierra Vista's Viko Noma'aea missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Brandon made two more free throws to push the lead to three.

Brandon made 15-for-15 from the foul line. He added six rebounds, five steals, four assists and a blocked shot.

Sierra Vista was in control early. Canyon Springs shot 1-for-10 from the field in the first quarter, and the Mountain Lions led 31-21 at the half.

But Thompson came out on fire after halftime, scoring seven points in the first 1:23 to help the Pioneers pull within 34-33.

Sierra Vista struggled against the Pioneers' press during the third quarter, turning the ball over seven times to help Canyon Springs get back into the game.

Thompson finished with 21 points, and Chris Willis had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who outrebounded Sierra Vista 24-13 after halftime.

Noma'aea led Sierra Vista with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Maiscei Grier added 21 points, and Dallin Molina supplied 10 rebounds for the Mountain Lions.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.