For the second time in the past two weeks, the Bishop boys basketball team used a big second-half run to get past the Vistamar Vikings, winning Tuesday night by a score of 63-51.
The Cardinals (22-12) outscored Vistamar (25-6) 23-12 in the third quarter to advance in the State tournament, as Bishop was able to avenge its buzzer-beating loss over the weekend in the CIF-SS Div. 5AA championship game.
“We’ve got another chance to make a run,” said Bishop’s Connor Streett after the win. “Not many teams get another chance after a loss and we got another chance. It’s up to use to do it now and we started it off right with a win.”
Coach James Coronado said he showed his team a few video clips from their 62-60 loss to Arrowhead Christian prior to Tuesday’s game, but for the most part didn’t talk about the loss. He was worried his team may have a hard time getting up for the game, but the Cardinals responded in a big way.
“Tough loss on Saturday, then we get to play a team that we already just beat,” Coronado said, referencing the Cardinals 59-50 victory of the Vikings on Feb. 21. “We’ve been saying all along ‘they’re too young to know better.’
“I knew it was going to be tough but they came out and responded.”
Bishop led 16-8 after the first quarter courtesy of some last-second heroics from Streett, who drilled a half-court shot as time expired.
“(Tuesday) at lunch actually, I shot a couple just for fun and I don’t know, I just let it fly and it went in,” Streett said postgame.
Coronado wasn’t a bit surprised by the result, in that Streett actually practices those shots during the week.
“I always say ‘I don’t know why you guys do that,’ but it paid off this time,” Coronado said.
The teams were tied at 22 at the half before Bishop caught fire from deep. Sophomore Kai Morphy scored 19 of his game-high 27 in the second half.
“I think I just gained more confidence in my shot in the third and fourth quarters,” he said. “Every time I got a little bit of space, I pulled it and it started going in. I trusted my shot and it kept going in.”
Morphy said the team came out Tuesday night with a chip on their shoulders.
“None of us were really put down from the loss,” he said. “It kind of motivated us in a good way to come back and make a really good run in state and not let it happen again.
“I think a lot of teams would come off a buzzer-beater loss in the championship… they wouldn’t come back the same team. I think we all persevered and we came back the same team, we came out firing.”
The Cardinals advanced to the second round of the State playoffs with the win, where they will square off with Roosevelt High School. Game details were unavailable Tuesday night.
email: mwhite@newspress.com
