Bishop Gorman, Desert Pines claim boys region basketball crowns
Mwani Wilkinson doesn’t normally start for Bishop Gorman.
So the high-flying junior made the most of his opportunity Saturday.
Wilkinson scored 16 points, including three dunks, to help the Gaels to a 57-50 win over Clark in the Desert Region boys basketball championship game at Foothill.
“It’s always fun to play,” said Wilkinson, who was 6-for-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. “It’s always fun to defend, rebound and especially dunk the ball. That’s what I like to do.”
Gorman (25-4) plays Mountain Region champion Desert Pines (22-6) at 7 p.m. Monday at Valley in the Southern Nevada championship game.
The Gaels fed off Wilkinson in the third quarter, extending their lead to 39-28 when he took a pass from Noah Taitz and threw down a dunk with 40 seconds left in the period.
“He’s such a finisher,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “And he’s so raw, but you can see what he does. It’s pretty unbelievable.
“When we spread the floor and he’s the finisher there, it’s really hard, because if our guards break the defense, you have to know that Mwani or Isaiah (Cottrell) or one of the two has a chance to get a dunk there. Our guys do a good job of passing and finding them.”
Wilkinson hit two free throws with 7:32 left to push the Gaels’ lead to 41-28 before Clark mounted a comeback. The Chargers twice got within two points, first on a tip-in by Antwon Jackson with 3:04 to play, then on two Jalen Hill free throws with 1:32 left that made the score 47-45.
But Taitz drove and dished to Cottrell, who completed a three-point play to push the lead to five.
“Clark never gives up, and they fought until the end,” Rice said.
After going 22-for-40 (55 percent) from the free-throw line in a 74-68 double-overtime win over Clark on Feb. 7, the Gaels were much better Saturday. Gorman made 26 of 34 free-throw attempts (76.5 percent), including 14 of 19 in the fourth quarter.
“Much better,” Rice said. “Basically after that happened the last time, we laughed about it, because that’s all you can do. If you dwell on it too much, it becomes psychological.”
Taitz had 16 points and three assists, and Cottrell blocked four shots for Gorman, which is 3-0 against the Chargers this season.
Jackson had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Hill had 13 points and nine rebounds for Clark.
Desert Pines nets Mountain title
Milos Uzan scored 18 points to lead Desert Pines to a 49-46 victory over Arbor View in the Mountain Region boys championship game Saturday at Legacy.
The Jaguars broke a 33-all tie with an 11-4 run, then held on with a stringent defensive effort.
Cimarron Conriquez scored 12, and Darnell Washington had nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Jaguars.
Donovan Yap led Arbor View (22-8) with 22 points, and Favor Chukwukelu scored 10.
After Chukwukelu hit one of two free throws to tie the score 33-33, Uzan hit a 3-pointer to start the Jaguars’ pivotal run.
Conriquez put back his own rebound, and Washington hit a short jumper to make the score 40-33.
Arbor View’s Donovan Yap completed a four-point play to make the score 40-37, but Washington and Uzan answered to extend the lead back to seven.
Arbor View clawed its way back into the game with three consecutive 3-pointers in the final two minutes. The Aggies had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer, but Yap’s 3-pointer clanked off the rim.
