Bishop Gorman (Nev.) outpaces Socastee to 80-55 win

Bishop Gorman (Nev.) is participating in its fifth Beach Ball Classic since 2009, and the Gaels have featured some of the top big men in the country in their previous appearances.

Stephen Zimmerman, Chase Jeter and Zach Collins have been among them.

But the Gaels have come to the 36th Beach Ball Classic with a roster that features no one taller than 6-foot-6, and they displayed a frantic style of play Tuesday night they will be counting on to earn their third Beach Ball title.

Bishop Gorman employed full-court pressure and a swarming defense to force Socastee into 37 turnovers in an 80-55 first-round win at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“We’re not as big as we have been in the past. We’ve had big guys,” Bishop Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “So we’ve been trying to turn up the pressure this year. So we tried to force the tempo and had some steals and wore on them a little bit there.”

The Gaels converted Socastee’s 20 turnovers in the first half into 29 points, and recorded 24 steals in the game to force Socastee into more than a turnover per minute.

“It seems like maybe my guys were feeling the Christmas spirit and were giving the ball away a little too much,” Socastee coach Derrick Hilton said. “Any time you turn the ball over 20 times in a half you’re going to make it a little bit difficult for yourself to try to compete and stay in the game.”

Senior Chuck O’Bannon scored a team-high 23 points and tallied five steals, which tied teammate Jarrett Jordan for the game high, and BYU commitment Christian Popoola added 20 points and a pair of steals for the Gaels (8-3).

Socastee 7-1 senior center Jason Cudd recorded game-highs with 25 points and 15 rebounds, hitting 11 of his 17 shots.

“The big fella, Mr. Cudd had a big night with 25 points and 15 rebounds,” Rice said. “He was a load in there. He did a good job and kind of kept us from really having any big runs. It’s exciting to see. I know how hard he’s worked. We played Socastee two years ago and he’s really grown up a lot and gotten a lot better, so that’s really neat to see.”

Despite the turnovers, Socastee (6-4) was able to keep pace with Bishop Gorman for much of the first half.

Led by Cudd, who had 10 points and four rebounds in 14 minutes in the first half, and 6-2 junior guard Kendrell Generette, who had seven of his nine points in the first stanza, the Braves held a lead 4:30 into the game following a Generette 3-pointer.

Socastee was within nine points with 2:10 remaining in the half before a Gaels’ 8-0 run in a minute helped them take a 15-point lead into halftime.

The baskets in the run were preceded by three steals and an offensive rebound, and the run was highlighted by a dunk by Popoola off an alley-oop pass from O’Bannon, and an O’Bannon dunk off his own steal.

Gorman took further command of the game by opening the second half with a 14-4 run.

Socastee 6-7 junior Andrew Gardner complemented Cudd’s inside production with eight rebounds.

“I saw some bright spots, I did see some good things,” Hilton said. “The big guys are playing well for us. Our guys inside are doing what we’re asking them to do. We just have to be patient and take care of the ball.”

Bishop Gorman, the five-time defending Nevada Division I state champion and 2009 and 2014 Beach Ball champion, is now 15-2 in its five Beach Ball appearances and has a tough matchup Wednesday night against Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia.

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Bishop Gorman (Nev.) outpaces Socastee to 80-55 win."