FROSTBURG — Tyler Thornton hit a three-point goal to break a tie game and scored five points in the final 1:45 as the Gonzaga College Eagles wrote a perfect ending to a near-perfect season with a 49-43 victory over Bishop O’Connell in the championship game of the 48th annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament Saturday night at Frostburg State University.
Cameron Johnson had 15 points and six rebounds, Thornton 13 points and three assists, and tournament Most Valuable Player Ian Hummer nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots to send Gonzaga to its third ACIT crown. The other two came in 2001 and 1986.
Jason Clark scored 15 points and had nine rebounds for Bishop O’Connell. Zalmico Harmon had eight.
Hummer was joined on the all-tourament first team by Clark of O’Connell, Maalik Wayns of Roman, Noel Hollingsworth of Judge Memorial and Most Outstanding Player Sean Mosley of St. Frances. Second-team went to Johnson of Gonzaga, Kendall Marshall of O’Connell, Ed Davis of Benedictine, Justin McCoy of Mt. St. Joe’s, and Khamran Khataian of Bishop Walsh.
The championship game was the fourth time Gonzaga (34-1) and O’Connell (30-7) met this year, and Gonzaga won all four of them.
“It’s really hard to beat a team four times,’’ said Gonzaga coach Steve Turner, who has coached on crutches since surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in February. “It’s a tremendous feat for these kids.
“They gutted this one out. When they felt like the tide was turning, when O’Connell made a tremendous run and got the lead, they really came together. These kids have believed in each other all year long. They’ve always had each other’s back, and tonight they did it again. They found a way to win again tonight.”
Tied at 40, Thornton nailed a three-pointer from the right side to put the Eagles on top to stay. The shot started a deciding 9-3 run over the final 1:45. The spurt got its start when O’Connell was whistled for an illegal pick with 2:03 left.
“I thought the illegal screen call was a very bad call, and then they hit the three to their credit. We came back and got a good drive but Kendall had a shot that rimmed out,’’ said O’Connell coach Joe Wootten. “But I thought in the championship game it was very poor to see that called in a tie game, especially with all the contact that was going on. It was very disappointing.
“You’ve got to give credit to Gonzaga. We’re a young team. They are very senior experienced. They played a very good game.
“To win 29 games starting four sophomores, I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”
Gonzaga led 24-17 at halftime, but O’Connell shot 6-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-4 on three-pointers, in a 19-point third quarter. The Knights opened the period with a 19-6 run and led 36-30 midway through the period, but went the final four minutes of the quarter and the first 3:45 of the fourth scoreless.
Gonzaga scored the final six points of the third quarter to tie it at 36.
The last tie was at 40 after a tip-in by O’Connell’s Clark at the three-minute mark of the fourth. After that, Thornton hit his three, Max Kenyi scoring inside, and Thornton and Rodney Gould hit two foul shots to extend the lead to eight with nine seconds left. The 49-41 lead was the largest since a 22-13 Gonzaga spread in the second quarter.
Gonzaga began the year with a 17-game win streak and ended it with a 17-game streak. The only blemish was a 45-42 loss to DeMatha, which they avenged later 61-44.
“Their unselfishness, their ability to play together, is the reason we’ve had such a great year,” said Turner. “No one cares about ‘me.’ It’s all about ‘we.’ That’s why we’ve been able to have so much success.”
Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.
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