Day 3 Recap of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational

What a way to end the 50^th annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament! A few controversial calls here, a few missed free throws there and another pair of clutch free throws to end the game. That’s what basketball is all about. March Madness is all about college, the high school game draws just as much craziness. Gonzaga edged DeMatha 68-67 in tourney’s final game to give the Eagles their third consecutive ACIT crown and even the season series 2-2 with their long time rival.

It was a fantastic finish to an exciting game. Don’t believe me? Just check the recap:

There was still 2.8 seconds left on the scoreboard but Cedrick Lindsay was already hanging his head. The Gonzaga guard had just missed two free throws that could’ve sealed the game and with his team now trailing 67-66, the senior couldn’t help but feel shell shocked. Just to compound things, Lindsay’s team was playing its long time rival, DeMatha, in the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament (ACIT) championship game and the Stags had won their previous two meetings over Gonzaga.

But Lindsay’s head didn’t hang for long. In front of a packed gymnasium at Frostburg State University, the Richmond-bound guard took the inbounds pass to the three point line before being fouled on a desperation shot with .5 remaining. Despite the controversial call, he swished his first two free throws before intentionally missing the last to give Gonzaga a 68-67 win and their third consecutive ACIT title on March 20.

“To be honest I was kicking myself,” Lindsay said about his late misses. “A lot of players don’t get a second chance [but] I got one today.”

A second chance was something Gonzaga was hoping for after DeMatha ran through them 71-52 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship on March 8. It was a poor showing from Gonzaga’s senior-laden team and with a trip to the City Title game on the line the Eagles played their worse game of the season. DeMatha then went on to claim their second consecutive City Title by beating Ballou High School 80-70 at the Verizon Center.

So with a chance to claim another ACIT crown and stick it to DeMatha one last time before graduation, Lindsay and the rest of his teammates couldn’t help but to oblige.

“To me, it was more about revenging our loss,” Lindsay admitted. “To leave our high school career the way we did in the championship game, it wasn’t a good feeling and we knew we had to come out here and we had to revenge it and that’s what we did today.”

In the 50^th annual ACIT, both Gonzaga and DeMatha battled to the finish. And it was expected. It was the fourth meeting between the schools this season but their rivalry never gets old, it just gets better with each game. DeMatha’s Quinn Cook and Victor Oladipo continued their season-long highlight tape with a pair of strong performances. Cook’s 17 points led all scorers while the ultra-athletic Oladipo chipped in with 10 rebounds and an exciting 14 points.

But even DeMatha’s dynamic duo had to take a backseat to Lindsay, 14 points, and his senior running mate Tyler Thornton, 13 points. The Duke-bound Thornton closed his Eagles career in fine fashion, collecting five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals to go along with his steady poise and leadership throughout the game.

“Not a lot of people get to say they’ve won one of these tournaments so to get to win three I feel honored and I feel blessed to have the teammates and the coaches that we have,” Thornton said. “To have it against DeMatha, that’s our biggest rival and the last game of my career, [it's] no better way to go out.”

Thornton, Lindsay and the rest of their teammates were just 2.8 seconds away from going out and ending their careers the wrong way. After DeMatha’s Cook drew a foul with the Stags trailing 66-65, his two free throws appeared to put DeMatha ahead for good. With less than three seconds remaining and having to go the length of the court just to get a shot off, the situation seemed nearly impossible. But Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner never stopped believing and after he called a timeout to draw up one last play, he knew Lindsay was the perfect player to transfer that confidence to.

“I looked him in his eyes and said ‘look at me, you’re getting ready to make the winning shot, get your head up and let’s get ready’ and [we] put the ball in his hands and he did it.”