GORMAN TOURNEY: Gaels boys win home tournament

The Bishop Gorman boys basketball team missed out on the chance to win its own tournament last season. Consider the second time the charm for the Gaels.

Gorman used a late second-half run to take control and held off Denver East 64-59 on Saturday in a physical championship game of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic.

“It’s a special thing to win your own tournament with some really good teams in it this year,” said Gaels coach Grant Rice, whose team lost to Bishop O’Connell (Va.) in the final in the inaugural event. “It definitely wasn’t the prettiest, but it’s a win.”

On a night when guards Kylel Coleman and Johnathan Loyd combined to go 4 of 15 from the floor, the Gaels (7-2) got big contributions from juniors Anson Winder and Xavier Grimble. Winder had 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, while the 6-foot-5-inch Grimble added 10 points, four rebounds and tough post defense on Denver East’s DaVaughn Thornton.

The 6-5 Thornton, who is being heavily recruited as a football player, had 23 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 2:53 left.

“I’m proud of X,” Rice said. “He came in in the second half and neutralized him.”

The Angels used a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 43-42 midway through the second half and went up 49-46 on a three-point play from Thornton. Gorman answered with a 13-2 run, capped by Czar Robotham’s fast-break basket, and led 59-51 with 4:12 to go.

“We started closing out shooters and boxing out better in the second half,” said Loyd, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “We just tried to put pressure on the ball and take charges, and that’s what we did.”

Denver East got as close as 60-57 on a baseline floater from Patrick Hilaire, but Winder and Loyd (eight points) combined to make four straight free throws in the final 35.1 seconds to close it out.

Gorman led wire to wire in the first half, going up 13-5 on Tim Carter’s three-point play. Coleman completed a three-point play to give the Gaels their biggest lead at 25-17 with 4:15 remaining, and Gorman led 29-24 at the break.

Foothill 77, Reno 65 — Junior Evan Roquemore scored 24 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Falcons upended the defending Class 4A state champion Huskies for third place.

Aaron Shepard added 19 points — going 9-for-10 from the free throw line — for Foothill (5-4), which never trailed in the game.

Roquemore, who was named to the all-tournament team, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Falcons a 15-4 lead midway through the first half, and another 3-pointer put Foothill ahead 24-8 with 6:20 on the clock.

Reno chipped away at the deficit as James Kerivan's 3-pointer made it 28-17, and the Huskies got within seven points before Foothill took a 36-27 lead into halftime.

A fast-break bucket by Reno's David Jaimeson cut the Falcons' lead to 46-39 early in the second half, but Roquemore's three-point play triggered a 9-0 spurt that gave Foothill its biggest lead at 55-39. The Huskies got it to 66-56 on a reverse layup by Roger Carlson and were as close as 70-61 following a putback with Zach Sanford with a minute to play.

All-tournament pick Austin Morgan led Reno with 17 points and Sanford added 16 and six rebounds.

Senior Kadeem Minor finished with 13 points for Foothill, which went 25 of 37 from the free throw line compared to 13 of 16 for the Huskies.

Desert Pines 73, St. John's (D.C.) 69 — Senior Pierre Jackson scored 22 points as the Jaguars beat the Cadets.

Desert Pines (8-3), which won four straight in the tournament after an opening-round loss to Reno, had four players in double figures.. Chris Perry scored 12, and Tyler Larson,  Reggie Shaw and Cliff Harrell each finished with 11. Larson had eight of his 11 points in the second half, when the Jaguars outscored St. John's 43-39.

Sophomore Chris Martin paced St. John's with 20 points.

Earlier in the day, the Jaguars knocked off Buchanan (Calif.) 77-74 to advance. Shaw, Perry and Harrell each  had 15 points, and Jackson added 13 points. Chancellor Davis also had 11 for Desert Pines, which got 11 first-half points from Shaw as it took a 43-34 lead at the break.

Faith Lutheran 82, Granite Hills (Calif.) 81 — Senior Chase Saunders poured in 42 points as the Crusaders (4-8) survived in overtime.

Saunders had 26 of his points after halftime, including seven in overtime after the teams tied 70-70 at the end of regulation. Sophomore Brett Lubbe had 10 of his 19 points in the first half for Faith Lutheran.

Senior Dean Miller led Granite Hills with 33 points.