Bishop Thomas K. Gorman's Jake Smith dribbles the ball as they play Colleyville Convenant Friday Feb. 19, 2016 at home. Gorman lost, 35-61. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Bishop Gorman had a big crowd on hand with tailgating outside Haddad Gym before the rowdy student section made its way inside for the TAPPS 4A playoff opener.

Then Colleyville Covenant Christian took the air out of the gym with efficient offense and defense en route to a 61-35 victory on Friday.

The Crusaders were held to four points 13 minutes into the game and were never able to mount a full comeback to end their season at 15-16.

The Cougars (23-15) advance to play either Frisco Legacy Christian or Austin St. Michael’s Catholic, who play Saturday.

“It’s a great crowd tonight obviously; Gorman fans turned out in numbers in support of their team,” Covenant coach Steve Turner said. “We were fortunate to get on them early, because we didn’t want them to get a lot of momentum and the crowd to get into it, so it worked out well as far as us hitting some early shots and getting some key defensive stops early on.”

Gorman trailed 24-4 with three minutes left in the first half before Jake Smith and Payton Fanning hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 run. However Cole Niles, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, scored as the halftime buzzer sounded to send Covenant into the break up 26-14.

The Crusaders were unable to cut the deficit into single digits in the second half, with the Cougars pulling away in the fourth quarter by hitting 10 of 13 shots.

Joseph Goff led all scorers with 14 for Covenant. The coaches’ sons also played large roles, with sophomore Daniel Turner going for 11 points, five steals and four assists and junior Josh Turner tallying 10 points and five rebounds.

“Proud of those boys,” coach Turner said. “They kind of help us run the show and facilitate things and they battle hard. Proud dad.”

Smith finished with 10 to pace the Crusaders, including seven in the second quarter. Nic Vandiver supplied four assists.

Judah Bell, who came in averaging 19.4 points per game, was held to nine points. A junior, Bell missed large portions of the game in foul trouble, a problem that plagued Gorman throughout.

The Cougars hit nearly 50 percent of their shots (24 of 50) compared to 26 percent for the Crusaders (11 of 42), who went 5 for 23 from long range.

Gorman earned the right to host the game after making a run to the TAPPS 2-4A tournament final, upsetting All Saints along the way. The Trojans, who entered the district tournament as the No. 1 seed, had to go on the road in the first round and were defeated 83-64 by Fort Worth Southwest Christian on Friday night.

“It was a hard-played game on both sides,” coach Turner said. “I give all the credit to Gorman. They did a great job all year and a great job in the district tournament.”

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TAPPS 4A Bi-District Playoffs

Colleyville Covenant Christian 61, Bishop Gorman 35

Covenant 11 15 13 22 – 61

Gorman 4 10 12 9 – 35

COVENANT-Jeff Barr, 3; Shea Southers, 5; Josh Turner, 10; Daniel Turner, 11; Jordan Millspaugh, 0; Michael Hudson, 0; Joseph Goff, 14; Blake Baugus, 4; Merrick McHenry, 0; Cole Niles, 13; Cade Wofford, 0; Diego Fernandez, 0; Jakob Langston, 0; Michael Smith, 0; Caden Kerr, 0. FG: 24-50. FT: 12-18.

GORMAN-Isaiah Haggerty, 0; Chris Jones, 0; Payton Fanning, 6; Tyler Hobbs, 3; Nic Vandiver, 3; Judah Bell, 9; Aaron Janecek, 2; Jake Smith, 10; Chris Favre, 0. FG: 11-42. FT: 8-15.

THREE POINT GOALS-CC (1-8): J. Turner; BG (5-23): Fanning (2), Vandiver, Smith (2). REBOUNDS-CC 35 (Niles 10); BG 29 (Bell 7). STEALS-CC 11 (D. Turner 5); BG 5 (Fanning 2). ASSISTS-CC 7 (D. Turner 4); BG 7 (Vandiver 4). BLOCKS-CC 3 (Niles 2); BG 1 (Smith). TURNOVERS-CC 8; BG 14. FOULS-CC 16; BG 18. LARGEST LEAD-CC 26 (61-35, 0:41-4Q); BG none.

RECORDS-Covenant 23-15; Gorman 15-16.

NEXT UP-Covenant vs. Frisco Legacy Christian-Austin St. Michael’s Catholic winner, TBD.