Basketball Wins 32nd Annual DC Classic

The Varsity basketball team won the 32nd annual DC Classic tournament on Sunday, December 12th by defeating the #9 team in the country St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, MD) 59-56. 

The Eagles started off their tournament against St. John’s Catholic from Buckeystown, MD.  St. John’s Catholic is led by former Gonzaga Basketball assistant coach Devin Williams. Gonzaga won 90-46 earning Coach Turner his 400th win.  

On Saturday, Gonzaga faced Charlotte Christian in the semifinal round. Charlotte Christian led 53-49 with 6:05 left in the fourth quarter. A 12-4 run by Gonzaga to end the game would lead them to a 63-57 victory and a trip to the finals against St. Frances Academy.

St. Frances Academy, who defeated DeMatha in the 2021 Hoopfest Showcase earlier in the month, was ranked #9 nationally coming into the weekend. St. Frances defeated Calvin Cooldige (D.C.) 64-61 in a quarterfinal game that came down to the wire, then beat Archbishop Wood (PA) 64-46 in the semifinals. 

In the DC Classic championship game Gonzaga led 28-27 at half in a high level contest. The second half had multiple lead changes and neither team had a lead of more than five. St. Frances got the ball with 12.7 seconds left trailing 57-56. Forward Thomas Batties ‘23 took a charge call with 2.1 seconds left that would close the game and prompt Gonzaga to a 59-56 victory. This is Coach Turner’s 10th DC Classic Championship. Here are a few highlights from the game:

Devin Dinkins ‘22, Thomas Batties '23, and Quinn Clark ‘22 were named to the DC Classic All-Tournament Team. Quinn Clark ‘22 was named DC Classic Tournament MVP. 

All tournament games can be found on the Gonzaga DC Classic Youtube page

Next up, Gonzaga will head to Hillsboro, Oregon to compete at The Les Schwab Invitational Sunday, December 26th-30th. Streaming options will be available

Go Gonzaga!