In the early days of this basketball season, Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner highlighted a trio of junior starters as key to his team’s success this season. For the Eagles to fare well in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, guards Nyk Lewis and Derek Dixon and forward Christian Gurdak would have to perform with the poise and leadership of seniors.
On Tuesday night in Northwest Washington, No. 2 Gonzaga was faced with a daunting test: a road game against No. 6 St. John’s. In the crowded chaos of a sold-out gym, that junior trio lifted the Eagles to a gutsy 58-55 win.
“They’re growing up, just like we expected,” Turner said. “We told them they would have to be big in order for us to be good, and as long as they can continue to do that, I like our chances.”
The fourth quarter was as tight as could be, with the WCAC rivals trading one-point leads. Gonzaga leaned on the trio down the stretch, with Gurdak — a transfer from Paul VI — producing back-to-back buckets with less than two minutes left to keep the Eagles in front.
After a defensive stop, Gonzaga got the ball up one with 24 seconds remaining, and this time it was Lewis’s turn to make a play. He drove hard to his right, absorbing contact in the lane and flipping the ball toward the hoop with his right hand. Coming from a near-impossible angle, his shot touched every part of the rim before it dropped through, giving Gonzaga a three-point lead it held until the final buzzer.
“I was confident driving the lane, and when you play with confidence good things happen,” Lewis said.
Lewis finished with 15 points, Gurdak had 13 and Dixon, a tone-setter at point guard, added 10.
“It was a bit of an adjustment getting ready for this rivalry after being at Paul VI,” Gurdak said. “But it’s been great to play against them, and I’m just happy we could come away with two wins this season.”
The Cadets (21-6) and Eagles (24-4) arrived on vastly different paths. Gonzaga entered the season with an experienced, touted roster, led by one of the most respected coaches in the area. The Cadets regrouped after an offseason of change and had a young, unproven group led by interim coach Patrick O’Connor.
Despite their differences, each team has found a winning formula, and in the home stretch of the regular season they find themselves competing for a top seed in next week’s conference tournament.
“It does feel like we’re playing the right way at the right time,” Turner said. “But that doesn’t mean much because a week from now everybody will be 0-0 when the tournament begins.”
