Hoophall: Findlay notches second win

St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) 79, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 63

Austin Rivers of Winter Park went for 38 points Friday against St. Patrick and Shabazz Muhammad of Bishop Gorman went for 28 Monday, but neither player could out-duel the Celtic trio of Michael Gilchrist, Derrick Gordon and Chris Martin.

The seniors combined for 69 points as St. Patrick (10-0), No. 2 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, solidified themselves as the No. 1 team in the nation with Monday's victory after top-ranked Oak Hill Academy's 75-69 loss to Milton (Ga.) Saturday.

"We did an overall good job on defense but we still need to pick it up on offensive rebounds," Gordon said. "But we're number one in the country right now so we're just trying to celebrate."

Gilchrist scored eight of his 27 points unanswered in the second quarter to break a 22-22 tie and swung the game's momentum back in St. Patrick's favor as the Celtics never trailed the rest of the game.

St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle pulled his star player out of the game in the first half to rest Gilchrist, who told his coach he was tired. Boyle admitted it's been a tough stretch for the players because of the recent travel and study hall sessions for midterm exams.

Muhammad struggled in the first half with three fouls but showed off his talents in the second with two beautiful layups through a series of St. Patrick defenders.

In the third quarter, the junior sprinted through the paint and connected on a left-handed layup over Gilchrist and Gordon. He later threw down a left-handed slam.

"It was great going against Mike," Muhammad said. "He's a player. Number one in the country and you saw that tonight. He plays hard and all out. I tried to match his intensity."

Gilchrist, who also had 10 rebounds, and the rest of the Celtic trio were just too much said Bishop Gorman coach Grant Rice.

"Everybody knows what kind of player Gilchrist is, but when you have two wings like Gordon and Chris Martin shooting the ball that's really hard to stop," Rice said. "Every time we get a stop it seemed like Chris Martin was hitting a shot from the corner or Gordon was attacking the basket."

Gordon finished with 24 points and Martin (18 points) was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc before leaving the game with an unofficial concussion, according to Boyle. Martin hit the James Naismith Court hard on a foul by Ronnie Stanley with 6:14 remaining in the game.

Gordon said it does not matter if St. Patrick's gains the new No. 1 ranking.

"We still have a target on our backs," Gordon said. "Every game we have to come out and show everybody that by the end of the season we will be number one."