Bishop Gorman looks for bragging rights against Findlay Prep

Chance Michels is the only senior starter for Bishop Gorman’s basketball team, and Saturday is his final chance to cross one item off his high school bucket list: beating Findlay Prep.

“Personally, it means a lot for me, because my brother was on the team that beat them the first time,” said Michels, whose brother Cole was on the 2014 team that got Gorman’s first win over the Pilots.

“It would be really nice because my brother got it his junior year but not his senior year. So if I got it my senior year, it would be kind of bragging rights at home.”

Michels and the Gaels (13-3) get their chance to knock off Findlay Prep (14-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday at South Point Arena as part of the annual Big City Showdown.

“We’ve had some good battles,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said of the annual matchup, which the Pilots have won 10 of 12 times. “Findlay’s won obviously more than us, to say the least, but I’m really proud because it’s been super competitive the last five years.”

Cole Michels and the Gaels beat the Pilots 76-72 in 2014, and Gorman topped Findlay Prep 77-71 in 2016. Each of the past five meetings has been decided by seven points or fewer.

“Findlay’s always top notch,” Rice said. “Just because they have a few more losses than they normally do doesn’t mean they’re not a good team. Their whole roster is Division I players.”

Both teams have a loss to La Lumiere (Indiana), the nation’s No. 1 team, according to USA Today. Findlay Prep also has lost to two other ranked teams — No. 2 McEachern (Georgia) and No. 17 Sunrise Christian (Kansas).

“It’s kind of the same as us,” Rice said. “We’ve got our three losses, but they’re all against really good teams. These days when you play a national schedule like Findlay does or we try to do a little bit, no one’s going undefeated.”

The showdown will end a big week for the Gaels, who handed Clark its first loss Monday. The Chargers are ranked No. 2 locally behind Gorman.

“Clark just happened to be on this week, so I didn’t even think about it,” Rice said. “Then a week and a half ago, I said, ‘Oh, man, we’ve got Clark on Monday and Findlay on Saturday.’ But it’s been fun, and the kids love it.”

And a win against the Pilots would do more than give Chance Michels bragging rights over his brother. He said it also could spur further success for the seven-time defending state champs.

“This could honestly set the tone,” Chance Michels said. “The Clark game was a good way to start this week, but if we win this game, I definitely think that gives us confidence. It’ll help us get right mentally and know that we are the team to beat and everyone’s coming for us.”

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Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4597. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.