It was not as if Nate Britt had the hot hand. The Gonzaga sophomore point guard had missed nine of his previous 13 shots, including both three-point attempts. And the fourth-ranked Eagles certainly did not have the momentum, having fallen behind for the first time since the middle of the first quarter.
But as Britt caught a pass in the left corner, he was certain that he was going to shoot. The shot clock was running down and he had a good look from just behind the three-point line. The ball felt good when it left his hands and it felt even better when it went through the net, sparking Gonzaga to a 62-52 victory over seventh-ranked DeMatha before a near-capacity crowd of 2,000 at Gallaudet University on Sunday night.
"I knew I was going to knock one down," Britt said. "I missed two or three threes in the first half, but I was feeling it."
Britt finished with a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds as the Eagles won for the 13th time in their past 14 games and moved into first place in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
Gonzaga (20-5, 12-3) also got a clutch performance from senior center Ben Dickinson. The 6-foot-9 Binghamton recruit battled DeMatha's post players throughout the game and finished with five points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Dickinson had some especially timely plays. After Britt's three-pointer gave Gonzaga a 47-45 lead with fewer than four minutes left, Dickinson grabbed an offensive rebound and eventually passed to Charles Glover for a layup. Then Dickinson fed Britt cutting to the basket for a layup before making a jumper from near the top of the key for a 53-47 lead with one minute remaining.
"That's what we expect from him, doing that on the big stage," Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner said. "He gave us everything he had. That was a big win."
The teams meet again next Sunday at DeMatha.
Sophomore forward Kris Jenkins scored 12 of his 13 points in the first half as the Eagles built a 27-18 halftime lead. It was 37-24 midway through the third quarter before DeMatha rallied. Marcellous Bell made three three-pointers in the quarter, the last one bringing the Stags within 43-38 at the end of the period.
Sophomore center BeeJay Anya then helped DeMatha (19-6, 11-3) complete its comeback, converting a three-point play and later dunking on a nice post move for a 45-44 lead. Anya finished with seven points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.
After having one shot blocked, though, Britt converted his shot from the corner that put Gonzaga back in front for good.
"It was a big bucket," Britt said. "DeMatha was on a run."
| Gonzaga | DeMatha |
| 62 | 52 |
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