Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:58 AM

Jenkins scores 27 to lead No. 9 Gonzaga past No. 3 DeMatha

WASHINGTON - When DeMatha's players look at the film in their heads Saturday night, what they'll have nightmares about is Kris Jenkins' arching three-pointers.

Jenkins scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, nailing all six of his three-point attempts, including five after intermission, to lead No. 9 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) to a 76-74 defeat of No. 3 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) at American University.

The games between the two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rivals are usually close, but DeMatha has won three consecutive WCAC titles. Saturday, the Stags had no answer for Jenkins, who helped make up for the loss of the Eagles' senior point guard, North Carolina recruit Nate Britt, who sat out his third consecutive game because of a calf bruise.

"He's underrated," said Gonzaga coach Steve Turner of Jenkins, a junior forward. "He understand his role. He's a leader and he stepped up when we needed him. He's been playing that way for us the last three or four weeks."

Gonzaga (17-0) never trailed and led by as many as 10 in the first half. DeMatha (16-2) had cut the lead to 37-34 early in the third quarter when Jenkins went to work for 12 points in the quarter, including two three-pointers. A dunk by Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof gave Gonzaga a 68-51 early in the fourth quarter. From there, DeMatha's press began to pay dividends and Stags point guard James Robinson, who led DeMatha with 25 points, drove hard to the basket at every opportunity.

"We had to keep attacking," Robinson said. "We just came up a little bit short, but I feel like we will definitely bounce back."

With 20 seconds left, Robinson was fouled on a fast break and hit two free throws to tie the game at 74-74. When Ra'oof had a chance for a dunk at the other end, he was fouled hard but came up and hit both free throws to ice the game.

"His two free throws were more impressive than his dunks," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said. "It's kind of hard, when you're as athletic as he is, to do anything but put the ball in the hole when you're down there by yourself. With our press, the guy at the other end of the court is always open and Gonzaga took advantage of that."

Gonzaga center Will Rassman finished with 13 points and helped hold DeMatha center BeeJay Anya to seven points.

"He does a lot of damage on the boards, so we sometimes put two bodies on him and tried to keep him off the glass," Rassman said.

In the past week, the Eagles have won three games without Britt, including close wins over Patterson (Baltimore) and DeMatha.

"He's definitely a leader on the team, so it's tough not having him," Rassman said. "Every time there was a time out, he was still pumping us up. We've won the past three games without Nate. I think it says a lot about our team — that it's not a one-man show. Once he comes back, we'll be even more dangerous."