Pressure Is Not Getting To Gonzaga

By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Having dominated the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular season and avenging its only loss, top-ranked Gonzaga's next hurdle is its conference tournament. The Eagles will play St. John's or St. Mary's Ryken on Friday in a quarterfinal game at Gallaudet, with the final two rounds scheduled for Sunday and Monday at American University.

However, in addition to possibly facing No. 10 Good Counsel and either No. 8 O'Connell or No. 9 DeMatha as it tries to claim its first WCAC title since 2003, Gonzaga is battling one other opponent: pressure, according to Coach Steve Turner.

"I have to give my hat off to the kids for handling the pressure they handle," Turner said. "You end up with new friends. You end up with a lot of people expecting you to win. . . . . They're not men yet, they're kids."

Helping Gonzaga (27-1) has been its ability to rely on a variety of players to lead the team. Center Ian Hummer, forward Cameron Johnson and guard Max Kenyi all average between 12 and 14 points. Hummer had a game-high 23 points in a 61-44 victory over DeMatha on Friday in the regular season finale; the Stags are the only team to beat Gonzaga this season, 45-42 on Jan. 15.

Loudoun County Rights Ship

After Loudoun County opened the second half of its district schedule with three straight losses, Coach Brian Blubaugh said he felt as if the team might not be able to break out of its funk.

"We felt like we might not win another game in the Dulles District, as tough as it is," Blubaugh said.

But since a 50-48 loss to Dominion on Feb. 2, the Raiders have won four straight games going into the district tournament, including a stunning 65-59 come-from-behind victory over top-seeded Heritage on Friday night. Loudoun County trailed by 21 in the second half against the Pride, but used a 32-point fourth quarter to rally.

Loudoun County opens the tournament at home tonight against Dominion, the team that last beat the streaking Raiders.

"We've fought hard now for the past four games and we have some confidence going into the tournament," Blubaugh said. "So we'll see what happens." . . .

A week after holding Jefferson to five points in the second half of its 49-23 victory, Madison gets a chance to repeat the feat tonight in the first round of the Virginia AAA Liberty District tournament.

Last Tuesday's victory over the Colonials (9-12, 4-10) was the second time this season the Warhawks (17-5, 10-4) held a district opponent more than 20 points under its scoring average.

"That's how we win, we make it difficult for teams to score," said Madison Coach Chris Kuhblank.

Boasting the last three Liberty District defensive players of the year, including this year's selection -- senior guard Drew Smerdzinski -- Madison has held opponents to a Northern Virginia-best 46.4 points per game.

"When teams score on us, it makes us angry," said Smerdzinski, a quick and scrappy defender who has shut down the area's best scorers.

Lackey Finding the Road Friendly

During a lackadaisical practice near the end of December, Lackey Coach Tony Mast banned his team from using the phrase, "We, not me." But on Friday, after beating three of Southern Maryland's toughest teams, all on the road, Mast granted his players freedom of speech.

The run started on Feb. 8 in Thomas Stone's rowdy gym, where the Cougars (17-2) hadn't lost. Then the Chargers went to Huntingtown (17-2) on Wednesday and dealt the Hurricanes their first home loss. They wrapped things up Friday at McDonough (12-7), the only team to beat Lackey in conference play this season.

The three wins moved the 19th-ranked Chargers to 17-3 overall, 13-1 in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and ran their win streak to 11.

"As coaches, we looked for different reasons in each game to get them motivated," Mast said. "With this group, it's not hard."

Staff writer Paul Tenorio and special correspondents B.J. Koubaroulis and Ryan Mink contributed to this report.