Gorman falls in championship game at Tarkanian Classic

Bishop Gorman’s halftime lead had evaporated against West Ranch (California) in the Platinum Bracket championship game of the Tarkanian Classic, but the Gaels still had a chance to force overtime.

Trailing 65-62 with nine seconds remaining, Gorman, ranked No. 12 nationally by MaxPreps, went down the floor with a chance to draw even with No. 19 West Ranch for the first time in nearly 10 minutes.

But sophomore guard Nick Jefferson’s 3-pointer in the final seconds was just off. West Ranch secured the rebound and hit two free throws after a Gorman foul to seal a 67-62 win to claim the Platinum championship Thursday night at Bishop Gorman.

“We just have to figure out ourselves and be more consistent throughout the game,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “We’ll have runs where we’re really good, but we have to put a full game together. But all in all, the (Tarkanian Classic) went really well.”

Junior guard John Mobley led the Gaels with 24 points. Senior wing Keenan Bey added 13 points.

Gorman (6-2) missed its first three shots. But a Mobley midrange jumper started a 10-0 run over 3 minutes, 35 seconds that saw the Gaels take an early lead.

Gorman made six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to lead by as many as 10 points, at 28-18. West Ranch (12-0) had trouble against the Gaels’ defense, managing only four points in the final 4:30 of the first half.

The Gaels led 37-30 at halftime, but Rice believed their lead should have been larger, pointing to a few mistakes that cost them opportunities to score.

Their lead was short-lived as West Ranch began to chip away. Wildcats senior forward Andrew Meadow scored the first four points out of the break, and his layup five minutes into the second half gave West Ranch its first lead.

The Wildcats went on a 16-6 run during the first six minutes of the second half and led 46-43. Gorman didn’t manage a tie or retake the lead the rest of the way.

Rice pointed to the Gaels’ struggles early in the second half as a turning point.

“For about five minutes on offense we were just really bad and just didn’t get good possessions,” Rice said. “They caught us right away, and it was a battle. … It could have gone either way.”

Meadow led West Ranch in scoring, with 14 of his 18 points coming in the second half.

Despite the loss, Rice said he was pleased with how his team competed against tough national opponents throughout the Tarkanian Classic. He’s confident the Gaels will clean up their mistakes from Thursday’s game and be better the rest of the season.

“We’re going to keep working and keep getting better,” Rice said. “It’s a long season, but I like these guys, and we’re going to keep rolling with what we’re doing.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.