Five Takeaways: Gonzaga vs DeMatha

Houston Wilson

January 9, 2019 @ 08:12 AM

On Tuesday night I went to DeMatha to see one of the best, if not the best rivalries in the WCAC between the host DeMatha and the visiting Gonzaga Purple Eagles. It was a back and forth game all night long but it was eventually DeMatha who made winning plays at the end to secure the win 62-58. Below are five takeaways from the game. Balance Is The Name Of The Game Both of these teams are extremely talented with multiple college prospects. For both teams there was nobody that particularly stood out as they both had multiple guys who scored in double figures. For DeMatha: 2019 Justin Moore 13 points 2020 Hunter Dickinson 11 points 2019 Jahmir Young 12 points 2020 Earl Timberlake 12 points For Gonzaga: 2020 Myles Stute: 11 points 2019 Anwar Gill: 11 points 2019 Josh Watts: 10 points Josh Wallace Asserting Himself Head Coach Mike Jones tweaked the starting lineup last night inserting 2019 unsigned senior Josh Wallace into the starting lineup over 2019 Brown commit Carsten Kogelnik. We have said before that if Josh were to go to any other school around the area, he would find himself in the starting lineup every night so it was good to see Josh put into that situation last night. Why Do People Try And Shoot Over Hunter Dickinson? I was scratching my head a little bit last night as Gonzaga had quite a few plays where a guy from Steve Turner’s bunch would try to and score over the 7’0 footer. Yes, Hunter might be one of the slower players on the court but his height gives him so much advantage to be one of the better rim protectors in the area and in the country. It is simple, do not try and go over him and he will let you know when he blocks your stuff. Reserves Step Up Big For Gonzaga If anyone is going to beat DeMatha in the WCAC this year, that team is more than likely going to need some other guys to step up for them. Last night Gonzaga got excellent production from 2019 John Marshall who gave the Purple Eagles good momentum heading into halftime by hitting a buzzer beater triple from very far out. Turner inserted 2022 point guard Devin Dinkins into the lineup due to 2020 Chuck Harris being out with a sprained ankle. Dinkins looked comfortable on the court finishing with 8 points. He was splitting his defenders, had confident in his jumper and was setting up his teammates. 2002 Josiah Hardy was playing his heart out as he was diving on the floor for loose balls, getting rebounds, had a big block on Earl Timberlake and had an impressive pump fake on Hunter Dickinson to get to the basket for a layup. If these guys are rollin, those are more weapons for Gonzaga down the road. No Slowing Down DeMatha The Stags are now 13-1 and keep on prevailing at the end during close games. This was their 6th single digit victory as they know what to do at the end of games to secure a victory. Credit that to excellent coaching and veteran leadership as all of these guys on DeMatha have been in these type of situations throughout their career.