Gonzaga had just one loss this season, which was avenged against DeMatha.
Gonzaga’s season wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty close.
The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions added an Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament title to their already burgeoning collection of awards this season, defeating Bishop O’Connell for the fourth time this season, 49-43, at Frostburg State University on March 15.
It is Gonzaga’s third Alhambra Catholic Invitation Tournament championship with the other two coming in 1986 and 2001. The Eagles (34-1) began the season with a 17-game win streak and ended it on a 17-game run, suffering just a three-point loss to DeMatha in between that they avenged later in the season.
But O’Connell didn’t make another championship easy on Gonzaga. The two teams were tied at 40 with three minutes remaining before Gonzaga’s Tyler Thornton hit a three-pointer from the right side that put the Eagles on top for good. Gonzaga outscored O’Connell 9-3 in the final one minute, 45 seconds. Thornton scored five of the nine points and finished with 13 points and three assists.
After Gonzaga took a 24-17 lead at halftime, O’Connell went 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-4 from three-point range as part of a 19-pount outburst in the third quarter. But the Knights went scoreless in the final four minutes of the third quarter, allowing Gonzaga to tie the game at 36 heading into the fourth.
O’Connell went scoreless for the first 3:45 of the fourth. Clark tied the game at 40 with a tip-in before Thornton’s decisive three-pointer. Gonzaga built an eight point lead with nine seconds left from that point on, giving the Eagles their largest lead since the second quarter.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Ian Hummer had nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Cameron Johnson added 15 points, six rebounds in the championship game.
O’Connell, who starts four sophomores, finished the season with a 30-7 record. Jason Clark scored 15 points and notched nine rebounds to lead the Knights. Clark was named to the All-Tournament first team along with Hummer, Most Outstanding Player Sean Mosley of St. Frances, Maalik Wayns of Roman and Noel Hollingsworth of Judge Memorial.
The second team was made up of Gonzaga’s Johnson, O’Connell’s Kendall Marshall, Benedictine’s Ed Davis, Mt. St. Joe’s Justin McCoy and Bishop Walsh’s Khamran Khataian.