High school basketball: Top-ranked Paul VI holds off No. 10 Gonzaga 70-57 despite late rally

Top-ranked Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) used a strong first half to knock off No. 10 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 70-57 in a highly anticipated Washington Catholic Athletic Conference showdown Friday night paced by 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Maryland signee Deshawn Harris-Smith.

Following a back-and-forth start to the contest, senior Ryan Sabol knocked down a 3-pointer late in the first quarter to give Gonzaga a 13-11 lead before Paul VI finished the first period on a 7-0 run to bring the score to 18-13.

Harris-Smith started the spurt with a finish around the basket, followed by a layup from junior Ben Hammond and a 3-pointer from the top of the key from Duke commit Darren Harris.

Following a 3-pointer from the left wing from Sabol to begin the second quarter to cut the deficit to three points, the Panthers responded with a 16-2 run to close the first half as the Eagles were held to just two baskets in the period.

Four-star junior Isaiah Abraham kicked off the run with a deep mid-range shot from the left wing prior to junior Garrett Sundra converting on an assist from Hammond.

Gonzaga sophomore Derek Dixon responded on the other end with a falling layup in traffic to give himself a team-high 10 points in the half and cut the deficit back to 22-18 before the Panthers scored the final 12 points of the period.

Harris-Smith contributed six points in the run, including a heavily contested mid-range step back for the last basket of the half, while Harris scored four and Abraham had a putback basket for two points in the flurry to give the Panthers a 34-18 advantage at intermission.

The Paul VI lead didn't fall below 12 points in the third quarter lengthening its advantage to 52-36 after three quarters.

Although an 11-0 spurt from Gonzaga cut the deficit to 60-52 with 2:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were able to survive down the stretch to pull out the double-digit victory.

Dixon finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range in the loss.

Paul VI (20-1) returns to the court on Tuesday to face Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), while Gonzaga (18-3) looks to bounce back from consecutive losses against DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) on Tuesday.