Findlay Prep-Bishop Gorman rivalry is good for Las Vegas

Paul Washington called timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime and his team shooting free throws Saturday, his Findlay Prep basketball team leading Bishop Gorman by six at South Point Arena and the outcome decided except for the final score.

He insisted it was to remind his players about finishing at the line and not fouling and competing those final few ticks in an intelligent manner because, well, crazy things happen.

Maybe it was some of that.

Maybe someone told him how UNLV-Air Force played out across town.

And maybe it was rubbing a little salt in the wound.

And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Great rivalries at the prep level are more exception to any rule, so the one that has developed between the Pilots and Gaels the past several years is to be welcomed and celebrated annually, where some of the nation’s best players ratchet up 32 minutes (36 in the case of Saturday) of intensity and sometimes great play, often not, sometimes memorable decisions, often sloppy ones.

This one had all of that and more, as Findlay Prep beat Gorman 78-72, meaning the past four meetings have been decided by six or fewer points.

“I like Bishop Gorman,” Washington said. “My daughter goes to school there. But we needed this win. We told the kids all week it was going to be a game of runs. Gorman is a good team. We just can’t react badly like I did.”

He speaks of when 2:24 remained in the third quarter, when a few McDonald’s All-Americans got caught up in things and Washington was assessed a technical foul.

Which happens when you are on the court arguing and throwing a towel.

His son, Kentucky-bound senior P.J. Washington, had been fouled hard on a drive by Bishop Gorman standout and Southern California commit Chuck O’Bannon. The younger Washington jumped to his feet and was held back. Gorman led 45-38 at the time, but it absolutely sparked something on the Findlay Prep side.

Close doesn’t always mean well played, and games such as this, where emotions run high and player resumes are being compared, often produce more bad shots than good ones, more missed free throws than normal, more one-on-one action than your average prep game delivers, and that’s really saying something.

Washington finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and O’Bannon had 16 and 11, but he scored only one point in the final 13:36 (including overtime) and forced far too much down the stretch.

But events such as the Big City Showdown do a terrific job showcasing how prep basketball in Las Vegas continues to grow, how more and more the town is producing players capable of competing against any nationally.

A third local McDonald’s All-American is Centennial senior Troy Brown, who led the Bulldogs past Coronado 59-51 in an appetizer to the Gorman-Findlay Prep main course.

Elite players at the high school level aren’t always great passers. Brown is. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

He was the best player Saturday at the South Point.

In many ways, by far.

He also had seven turnovers. Was sloppy in parts. Tried making highlight plays when good ones would have sufficed.

But there’s nothing better than watching someone of his size (6 feet 7) play one step and one thought ahead of others. Problem is, those he plays alongside often struggle to finish what he starts. Of the seven miscues, at least half were on teammates who couldn’t handle his passes.

That won’t happen when Brown arrives at Oregon next season.

Another talented local is Julian Strawther, a 6-6 freshman from Liberty who scored 20 and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 65-53 loss to Durango.

You can seen why Strawther has drawn major Division I interest, why teams such as UNLV and Florida State and Southern California and Creighton already have offered scholarships.

You also can see how much better he will be, like most of the standout players Saturday, once on the receiving end of college coaching. Time will gain him the strength needed in his hands and frame, and Strawther is skilled enough that college coaching eventually should make him a capable defender.

But the capper was the game most who attended came to watch, the 10th meeting between the Pilots and Gaels.

Findlay Prep now leads the series 8-2.

“When you have two top teams like this that can recruit and have the top kids, this is a big deal for us,” Paul Washington said. “This is not a normal game for us.”

I’m not sure he realized using the word recruit in terms of Gorman (hold the emails, please), but I’m thinking Washington knew his team was up six and at the line with 3.8 seconds left when he actually instructed his players at halfcourt to, for whatever reason, fill rebounding lanes.

Because, well, you know, those six-point plays in less than four seconds when a team is 80-plus feet from its basket happen a lot …

It’s all part of what has become an outstanding rivalry.

Hey, a little salt is never a bad thing.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.