Bishop Gorman’s boys basketball team looked a lot different last year than most of its previous state-title teams.
The new-look Gaels battled through a competitive Class 5A and won the state championship last season, the program’s 23rd state title and first since its run of nine straight titles was snapped in 2022.
This year, things have appeared to open up for Gorman to defend its title.
The Class 5A boys state semifinals are Wednesday at Clark High. Gorman (22-5), the No. 2 seed, faces No. 6 Desert Pines (11-9) at 4:40 p.m.
No. 4 Mojave (18-9) and No. 8 Silverado (12-14), which knocked off top-seeded Coronado in the quarterfinals last week, play in the other semifinal at 8 p.m.
The state championship game is at 8:15 p.m. Friday at Cox Pavilion.
“Last year was an interesting year because we kind of rebuilt the program and worked hard,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “They’re all good kids, and it’s kind of carried into this year. We’ve had a good group once again. They get along.”
Gorman’s roster isn’t filled with top recruits like in previous years. The Gaels have relied on a deep rotation of nine players to contribute in all facets of the game.
Rice said this year’s team is deeper than last year’s, and the experience of playing in big games has prepared the Gaels for another title run.
“We’ve played well probably the last three or four weeks,” Rice said. “I feel like we’ve been hitting our stride, and we’ve had good practices and we’ve been in solid games.”
Mojave also has some experience winning big games. The Rattlers claimed back-to-back 4A titles in 2022 and 2023 and moved up to 5A last season. Guards CJ Shaw, a UC Santa Barbara commit, and Zacarrion Jackson remain from the title teams.
Shaw and Jackson “know how it feels, and they want to do it again,” Mojave coach KeJuan Clark said. “They know what it takes to do it. They’re natural ball players that want to win and compete. When they are fully locked in, it makes it easy for me.”
Mojave is familiar with its semifinal opponent, as the Rattlers and Silverado faced off for the 4A title in 2023. Mojave came away with a 73-68 victory for the title after defeating the Skyhawks handily twice in the regular season.
“Those games before that we beat them by 20-plus, sometimes 30 points and then in the state championship game we won by (five) points and were down one or two points with less than two minutes left, so you have to be prepared for anything,” Clark said. “You can’t think any game is going to be an easy game in 5A when you’re playing the top talent and the top coaches.”
Silverado advanced after pulling off one of the biggest upsets in state history when the Skyhawks beat Coronado 59-58 on Friday to knock last year’s state runner-up out of the playoffs.
Travis Fralin hit a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left to give the Skyhawks the victory.
Silverado coach Cyril Franklin said his team dealt with some injuries earlier in the season, but the Skyhawks are now fully healthy and are playing the basketball he expected them to play.
“Their resiliency, they just never gave up,” Franklin said. “I preached to them during when we were on our losing streak that this is not who you are. They believed it. They knew it and never gave up. As long as they’ve got some time on the clock, they’re still going to fight.”
Capri Uzan is in his first year coaching Desert Pines. He led the Jaguars to four 3A state tournament appearances and the 2017 state title as a player under his father, Mike Uzan.
Desert Pines is the youngest team remaining. The Jaguars have three freshmen and three sophomores in their rotation. Capri Uzan said his team’s youth has him “confident” heading into Wednesday’s game with Gorman.
“That’s the best part about this team, is that we’re so young,” Capri Uzan said. “Everyone brings something different to the table, too. We have a bunch of different players with different skill sets, and we bring it all together to create a good team.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Class 5A boys basketball state tournament
Semifinals
Wednesday
At Clark
No. 6 Desert Pines vs. No. 2 Bishop Gorman, 4:40 p.m.
No. 8 Silverado vs. No. 4 Mojave, 8 p.m.
Championship
Friday
At Cox Pavilion
Semifinal winners, 8:15 p.m.