A regular season high school basketball game Saturday between defending state champion Bishop Gorman and state runner-up Coronado was considered a battle of the state’s top programs.

Coronado outscored Gorman by 12 points in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 62-56 win to get some revenge from a narrow defeat in last season’s title game. More important: The win erased an unexpected loss on Friday to Centennial.

You could argue Coronado overlooked Centennial with a contest against Gorman on the horizon as part of the “Big City Showdown.” You could also argue that Centennial’s 14-point win solidifies that there are more than two teams — Gorman and Coronado — competing for a championship.

Coronado coach Jeff Kaufman had to have a long, stern conversation with his team Friday in what was a “reality check for them,” he said. Saturday, the players responded.

“Last night, we weren’t up to play a game,” Kaufman said. “Tonight, they were up for it. They were done not winning games. They willed themselves to it.”

Coronado trailed 47-41 entering the fourth quarter and hadn’t been able to find much offensive rhythm.

Then, UNLV commit Mason Abittan drilled a long 3-pointer to open the scoring and Coronado quickly found its shooting stroke. The late-rally included four 3-pointers, with Abittan hitting another, and Lantz Stephenson and Jalen St. Clair also connecting.

St. Clair’s 3-pointer, which gave Coronado a four-point lead, was from about 35-feet out. “When he shot that from the volleyball line, I said ‘No’ until it went in,” Kaufman jokingly said.

St. Clair, who finished with 20 points, iced the game by making four straight free throw attempts in the final minute.

“That’s my game — making big shots,” he said of hitting the deep 3-pointer. 

Abittan led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting, including making 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts. 

Coronado made 16 of 20 of its free throws, a welcome improvement from last year’s championship game when the Cougars missed double-digit attempts from the charity stripe in a three-point loss.

Many expect the teams to meet again for the state title. Of course, both programs are looking up at Centennial in the standings. Centennial is 17-1 overall and 4-0 in league games.

“The city is small. We all know each other,” St. Clair said. “We look forward to these big games (against Gorman).”

Senior Nick Jefferson had 20 points to lead Gorman in scoring. Sophomore Ilan Nilolov had 12 points.