Britt-less Gonzaga holds off DeMatha

A week after overtaking DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in MaxPreps.com's Xcellent 25, No. 5 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) backed it up on the court with a 76-74 victory over its Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rival Saturday.

Making the victory even more impressive, Gonzaga (17-0) did it without junior point guard Nate Britt – a North Carolina pledge who was out with a bruised calf.

Fellow junior Kris Jenkins stepped up – once again – for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 27 points. Jenkins, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound wing-forward, notched 30 points and 11 rebounds in a win last Saturday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic and followed with a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired against Patterson (Baltimore) on Monday.

Gonzaga led by nearly 20 in the fourth quarter before No. 6 DeMatha (16-2) fought back with 30 points in the final eight minutes. The Stags received 25 points from Pittsburgh-bound senior point guard James Robinson and 21 more from junior Jairus Lyles.

Jenkins is having an All-American junior campaign, averaging 29.7 points per game in his last five outings and 18.6 for the season on a team that features at least a half-dozen other future Division I players. He was complimented against DeMatha by Charles Glover (16 points), Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (14) and Will Rassman (13).

Gonzaga and DeMatha – who met Saturday at American University – will play again Feb. 10.