Photo by George Smith. DeMatha's Jerami Grant, of Bowie, drives in the lane as Gonzaga's Charles Glover (#12) tries to draw the charge and Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (#32) tries to stuff the ball.

Published on: Thursday, January 26, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

In a highly-anticipated Washington Catholic Athletic Conference matchup between two of the area’s top teams and nationally ranked programs, Gonzaga held off a furious DeMatha fourth quarter rally Saturday en route to a 76-74 victory over the Stags at American University’s Bender Arena.

“If we lose by two (or) we lose by 22 (points), it really doesn’t make a difference. It’s still a loss, so we’re going to leave it all out on the floor. And I’m glad our guys did that,” DeMatha head coach Mike Jones said afterward. “I’m just disappointed with the way we played in the beginning of the game.”

Gonzaga junior forward and Upper Marlboro resident Kris Jenkins erupted for 21 of his game-high 27 points after intermission and converted all six of his 3-pointers to help the Purple Eagles build a double-digit lead against the Stags in the second half.

“I’m glad he’s on my team,” Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner said with a laugh. “He’s a leader; he’s one of our captains. Even when he had to be in foul trouble in the second quarter he did a great job of being a guy that was vocal and leading on the bench. He was chomping at the bit to get back on the floor.”

DeMatha rallied from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter sparked by the performance of senior guard and Mitchellville resident James Robinson who scored a team-high 25 points. Jairus Lyles, a junior guard, added 21 points.

A Jenkins 3-pointer with 5:17 left put Gonzaga up 64-46 before the Stags went on a 28-10 run.

A pair of free throws from Robinson tied the game at 74 apiece with 9.1 seconds remaining before Gonzaga sealed the win on a pair of free throws from sophomore Jordan Abdur-Ra’oof with 1.2 seconds left.

“They were huge (free throws),” Jenkins said. “Very clutch free throws, we practice it all the time so we had confidence in him when he went up to the free throw line and knocked them down.”

The win over DeMatha helped put Gonzaga in the driver’s seat for the WCAC regular season crown and kept the Purple Eagles unbeaten midway through the 2011-2012 campaign.

Meanwhile, DeMatha suffered its second loss in three games. The Stags lost 73-65 to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on Jan. 16. DeMatha and Gonzaga will meet again Feb. 10 in Hyattsville in a nationally televised game on ESPN.