NOTES: Findlay Prep tries to regain balance in clash with Bishop Gorman
The first stop for Findlay Prep’s boys basketball team was Arizona before it headed to Hawaii. After a two-week break for the holidays, it was on to West Virginia and then Missouri.
After all that travel, first-year Pilots coach Paul Washington is glad to finally be back in Nevada.
Findlay Prep, which last played a home game Dec. 6, takes on Bishop Gorman at 6 p.m. Saturday in the annual Big City Showdown at South Point Arena.
“It’s just good for us to get home and kind of relax and get our bodies back right,” Washington said Tuesday night. “We’re trying to bring this program back to where it was when it won three national championships. It will be good for Vegas and Henderson to come and check us out, and we’re excited to showcase our style of play.”
Findlay Prep (17-3) is hoping to bounce back after losing two straight games for the first time since the 2013-14 season. A 76-47 loss to Sierra Canyon (California) on Friday was the program’s largest margin of defeat since it started playing a national schedule during the 2007-08 season.
“It’s been tough injuries at the wrong time of the year, but all it’s done is made sure other kids step up and fill those roles,” Washington said. “We’re glad that we’ve had a chance to see the top competition in the country and play against them so when we come back for a Bishop Gorman, it will be a good, quality game.”
Findlay Prep has lost two of the past three meetings with the Gaels , including a 77-71 setback last season .
The Pilots are led this season by senior forward P.J. Washington, who signed with Kentucky. He is one of two McDonald’s All Americans in Saturday’s game, joining Gorman’s Chuck O’Bannon.
“It’s a tough matchup for both teams,” Paul Washington said. “It’s not a regular game. You’re playing a quality team that travels out of the state of Nevada just like we do.”
BULLDOGS PROMOTE FORSHEE
Centennial hired former UNLV offensive lineman Dustin Forshee as football coach, athletic director Mike Livreri confirmed Tuesday. Forshee, an assistant at the school for two seasons, replaces Leon Evans.
“He’s a very offensive-minded guy,” Livreri said. “We’re pretty excited about him. He’s going to bring some good energy. He’s young, he’s eager.”
Forshee, 32, previously was the offensive coordinator at Coronado, but has no head coaching experience.
Evans was 50-27 in seven seasons with Centennial. The Bulldogs were 3-6 in the fall and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
POUTASI IN POLY BOWL
Desert Pines offensive lineman Poutasi Poutasi was selected to play in the inaugural Polynesian Bowl on Saturday in Honolulu.
Poutasi, who made an official visit to Auburn last weekend, is the only player from Nevada scheduled to participate in the all-star game that features top seniors of Polynesian heritage and other ancestries.
RECENT COMMITMENTS
■ Rancho senior Angel Walker to Eastern Arizona College for baseball.
■ Arbor View senior Hayden Bollinger to Colorado Mesa for football.
■ Liberty senior Damahny Whittle to Northern Arizona for football.
■ Arbor View senior Madison Boyd to UNLV for women’s soccer.
Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.