A deep bench is a significant advantage for any high school basketball team, especially in the postseason.
Bishop Gorman showcased its depth Friday night as it began its quest to defend its Class 5A boys state title.
Gorman had 10 players score and recorded 27 bench points, which propelled the second-seeded Gaels to a 63-46 home win over No. 7 Centennial in a 5A state quarterfinal.
“We’ve got nine guys who are going to play,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “I say all nine of those guys, they can be starters. We mixed the lineup a little bit in the second half, and it seemed to work.”
Gorman (22-5) will face No. 6 Desert Pines, which upset No. 3 Liberty 66-62 in its quarterfinal matchup, in the state semifinals Wednesday at Clark at a time to be determined.
“That first (playoff game), you’re always a little nervous that first game because it’s playoffs,” Rice said. “Even though in that first quarter we were a little off. We settled down, and I thought the second half was really good basketball.”
Desert Pines’ win over Liberty wasn’t the only upset. Eighth-seeded Silverado stunned No. 1 Coronado 59-58 on the road and eliminated last year’s state runner-up. Silverado will face Mojave in the other semifinal Wednesday at Clark.
Jett Washington and Nick Jefferson each scored 14 points to lead Gorman, and Kingston Carmona added 10 points.
Centennial (5-21) led most of the first half and was ahead 19-14 midway through the second quarter. But Gorman settled in and closed the final 5:20 of the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 24-21 halftime lead.
The Gaels capitalized on several Centennial turnovers in the third quarter and pushed their lead to 43-31 after the third quarter.
“We just opened it up (in the second half),” Rice said. “I think we got some transition baskets. Our defense was still locked in. We were good, and we got to the rim a little more, and then Ilan (Nikolov) made some shots, which helped open it up a little bit.”
Washington did most of his damage in the first half. The state’s class of 2026 No. 1 football recruit came off the bench and scored 10 first-half points.
“Jett and Tyler Johnson have accepted that role (of coming off the bench),” Rice said. “Jett was starting before he got hurt, and he was out for a month. Our only loss with Jett was to Roosevelt (California, ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps). Having (Washington) back is a huge lift.”
Zyon Harris scored 12 points to pace Centennial. Bryce Iwuoha added 11 points and Jayonni Durrough 10 for the Bulldogs.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.