High school game of week
KSNV coverage of Wednesday's high school basketball game of the week featuring Bishop Gorman vs. Western High.
Prep Sports Now
Back from break, basketball resumes
Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Case Keefer and Ray Brewer dive back into the high school basketball scene and tell you who to look out for in the second half of the season. Brewer is convinced he can already tell who will play in the state championship in both the boys and girls.
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Bishop Gorman guard Shabazz Muhammad made eight straight NBA-range three-pointers during his team’s halftime shoot-around Tuesday evening.
Muhammad’s efficiency wasn’t much different during the actual game against Western. Muhammad, a junior, knocked down five three-pointers and scored 29 points as Gorman re-opened Southwest Division play with a 75-53 victory against Western.
“I was just feeling it in warm-ups,” Muhammad said. “I felt my shot coming on and guys did well distributing the ball.”
Muhammad contributed another highlight in the first quarter when he threw down a ferocious dunk while alone on a fast break. The slam capped off a quick 14-3 run for the Gaels after they fell behind 8-7 to Western early.
Gorman never trailed again. Whenever Western came close to cutting the game to a manageable deficit, Muhammad made a play.
“We went on a good run,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “I thought Rosco Allen really pushed the tempo in the first quarter. He and Ben Carter really got us going in the first quarter, and then Shabazz carried us through.”
Allen made sure UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who was in attendance, saw marquee performances from not one but two of the nation’s top recruits in the class of 2012. Allen had a big dunk of his own and finished with 21 points.
“I thought he was great tonight,” Rice said.
Junior forward Ben Carter added 11 points for the Gaels, while junior point guard Gio Guzman wound up with seven assists. Gorman also used a zone defense to stifle Western’s offense.
The Gaels held Sir Washington and Kentrell Washington, the Warriors' top two scorers, to only 14 points combined.
“Last year we played zero possessions in zone the whole year, which is kind of funny,” Rice said. “But this is a new team that’s not quite as quick and athletic as last year, but definitely bigger and longer.”
Last year, Western gave Gorman its closest game against an in-state opponent. The Gaels escaped with only a 10-point victory.
The Warriors are once again the second-place team in the Southwest and perhaps the Gaels' biggest challenge before the state tournament. The teams meet again later this month, but Gorman passed the first test with ease.
Muhammad said Gorman was the most focused it had been all season Tuesday following a loss in the finals of a tournament in Portland, Ore., against DeMatha (Maryland) last week.
“That was painful and we wanted to come back strong,” he said.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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