[BOSCORE]
Bishop Gorman (8-3; Las Vegas, NV) overcame a sluggish start to cruise to a 80-55 opening round victory over Socastee (6-4; Myrtle Beach, SC).
The two teams traded the lead twice and had three tied scores in the opening minutes as Socastee battled one of the nation’s best programs in Bishop Gorman. Socastee’s Kendrell Generette gave the Braves an 11-10 lead with 11:30 remaining in the opening half. That would prove to be the last lead for Socastee as Bishop Gorman scored the next 11 points to open a 21-11 lead with 8:44 on the clock. The Gaels went on to lead by as many as 17 in the first half and held a 42-27 lead at the break.
The second half saw much of the same as Bishop Gorman built leads as large as 29 points.
Bishop Gorman was led by Southern Cal signee Chuck O’Bannon’s 23 points and five steals. Christian Popoola, who will play collegiately at BYU, added 20 points for the Gaels.
Socastee’s Jason Cudd, who has signed with the University of South Carolina, tallied 25 points and 15 rebounds.
