Gonzaga defeats Dematha

Gonzaga defeats Dematha

76-74

KRIS JENKINS

By - Jim Halley

Kris Jenkins scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, nailing all six of his three-point attempts, including five after intermission, to lead No. 9 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) to a 76-74 defeat of No. 3 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) at American University.
The games between the two Washington Catholic Athletic  Conference rivals are usually close, but DeMatha has won three consecutive WCAC titles. Saturday, the Stags had no answer for Jenkins, who helped make up for the loss of the Eagles’ senior point guard, North Carolina recruit Nate Britt, who sat out his third consecutive game because of a calf bruise.
“He’s underrated,” said Gonzaga coach Steve Turner of Jenkins, a junior forward. “He understand his role. He’s a leader and he stepped up when we needed him. He’s been playing that way for us the last three or four weeks.”
Gonzaga (17-0) never trailed and led by as many as 10 in the first half. DeMatha (16-2) had cut the lead to 37-34 early in the third quarter when Jenkins went to work for 12 points in the quarter, including two three-pointers. A dunk by Jordan Abdur-Ra’oof gave Gonzaga a 68-51 early in the fourth quarter. From there, DeMatha’s press began to pay dividends and Stags point guard James Robinson, who led DeMatha with 25 points, drove hard to the basket at every opportunity.
“We had to keep attacking,” Robinson said. “We just came up a little bit short, but I feel like we will definitely bounce back.”
With 20 seconds left, Robinson was fouled on a fast break and hit two free throws to tie the game at 74-74. When Ra’oof had a chance for a dunk at the other end, he was fouled hard but came up and hit both free throws to ice the game.