Chuck O’Bannon’s clutch shooting proves decisive as Gorman beats Clark
Clark fans rose to their feet, and things began to get loud as the Chargers rallied in the fourth quarter Tuesday night.
Bishop Gorman senior Chuck O’Bannon just couldn’t have that.
O’Bannon nailed two long 3-pointers in the final four minutes as the Gaels held off host Clark, 70-63.
“Basically I just wanted to silence the crowd so we could get some momentum on our side,” O’Bannon said. “Because if we get caught into that, it would be over for us, so we had to end that real fast.”
O’Bannon’s first long 3-pointer came with 3:25 left and ended an 8-2 Clark run that had cut the lead to 55-53.
The Chargers again made a run, with Trey Woodbury hitting a tough pull-up over Jamal Bey that cut Gorman’s lead to 61-59 with 2:16 to go. O’Bannon answered again with a long 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:15 to play.
“It was nice just to silence the crowd,” O’Bannon said. “Just to remind my team that we’ve got the lead, this is our game and it’s our job to take it home.”
Woodbury hit two free throws with 38.4 seconds left to cut the Gaels’ lead to 65-63, but Christian Popoola made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 35.5 seconds.
Popoola started the game 3-for-7 from the line but heated up when it mattered most.
“He’s a great free-throw shooter,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “He’s been shooting about 90 percent for the year, so we always want the ball in Pop’s hands.”
O’Bannon started slowly and had just three points at the half, when the game was tied at 29.
But he got hot in the third quarter, nailing his first two 3-pointers and finishing with 17 points and six rebounds.
Clark (12-3, 3-1 Southwest League) led 35-31 after a basket by Antwon Jackson with 5:42 to go in the third. But O’Bannon drained two 3-pointers from the left wing, tying the game at 37 with 4:45 to go in the quarter, and the Gaels (8-5, 3-0) wouldn’t trail again.
“He got going in the second half,” Rice said. “He struggled in the first half to get his groove. I knew when he came out and hit those first two shots (in the second half) that we had a good shot tonight.”
Popoola scored 20 points and Bey 13 for the Gaels, who were ranked No. 1 in the latest Southern Nevada coaches poll.
Woodbury scored 20 and Jackson 14 for Clark, which was ranked No. 2.
“They’re a great team,” Popoola said of Clark. “They hit shots; they play together. We just stuck together. Every run they made, we’d keep our heads high, go into the timeout and just come back and battle back.”
Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.
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