SPOKANE, Wash. — Depending upon who you ask, Jordan Mathews’ three against West Virginia with less than a minute left in the Sweet 16 is either the most important or the second-most important shot in Gonzaga history. It lifted the Zags over a Mountaineers team that made the game a rock fight until the very end. It also kept Gonzaga’s season alive that eventually saw them falling in the national championship to North Carolina.
We caught up with a few members of that 2017 Gonzaga team about that game and the shot heard ‘round Zag Nation.
Jordan Mathews, Gonzaga guard: “I do remember the game going by very, very slowly. It just seemed like the whole game seemed to be how they wanted it. Like we were scoring, and we played our game plan really well, but everytime we’d pull away, we’d get up six, it seemed like they’d always do something to just come right back.”
Josh Perkins, Gonzaga guard: “It was one of the most physical games I’ve been in, for sure. No question. If not the most physical one I’ve been in, for sure. They used physicality, they were chippy, they would talk to you so it was a combination of all that stuff. It was a war. It was a battle, but we loved it. We embraced those.”
Mathews: “The game was like emotionally draining. My mom and my sisters after the game were like, ‘I need a drink and then a nap because I am tired.’ They were just tired.”
Mathews: “So I remember the whole sequence leading up to it. I had just checked back in because I had four fouls. I was hacking the whole game. Coach Few put me back in. I remember he said, ‘I need you to do something’ and I was like, ‘OK.’”
Rem Bakamus, Gonzaga guard: “He did something yeah, that’s about perfect.”
Mathews: “Everything happened in slo-mo once they missed that free throw. They missed that second free throw, and I think his name was Nathan Adrian, he got the ball back. I was like if he makes the lay up we’re in trouble. Josh just destroyed it.
Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga guard: “We just used to tease him all the time that he would just have these crazy block attempts in practice. Nine out of ten times they were probably hard fouls that Przemek or something didn’t like cause he’s just swiping crazy throughout the air. It’s just one of those funny things we used to laugh about that, like you said, could probably go down as one of the biggest plays in the history of the school.”
Perkins: “I don’t know what I ate that day for breakfast, but I got from the free throw line area to the hoop and got one of my only blocks of my college career and a super important one. It was definitely a play, but I’m just glad we got the ball back and Jordan made that three or else the block would’ve meant nothing.”
Mathews: “Then we come down. Nigel hit me. I thought that pass was going to be stolen because he tipped it. I thought the pass from Nigel to me was going to be tipped.”
Williams-Goss: “I just seen J Mat streaking so I knew I just needed to get another dribble and let him get closer to the line, and I knew I was going to hit him. So I was able to get it to him and he just stepped right in to it.”
Mathews: “I just thought I should shoot this because they’re really good in half court on defense so I just shot it. At the time I didn’t know how much time was on the clock. I was like, ‘We just got to keep playing.’”
Williams-Goss: “I don’t think any of us were surprised that he took the shot or that he made it.”
Bakamus: “Jordan rises up and he knocked it down. I just remember me and Dustin going bezerk. Dustin was just grabbing Tommy and I think Ricardo Fois was holding me back and it was just mayhem. Dustin had him (Tommy Lloyd) in a bear hug and was just trying to jump up and down with him. Tommy was shaking him off like we’ve got a game to win.”
Perkins: “When that shot went in, I was like man this is our game. This team is special, this is a special year so when that went in I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to lock in and get these stops in crunch time so we can make this happen.’”
Williams-Goss: “It was just a cool moment, especially for me and J Mat. We played together in AAU in high school, and I think I was the first player on the team that he had reached out to when he had even considered transferring to Gonzaga. We had, like I said, a preexisting relationship and so for me to pass the ball to him and him be the one to make the shot, I think was pretty cool for both of us.”
Bakamus: “It paid off for Jordan because he wanted to be a part of big moments and play in the NCAA Tournament. For him to hit that shot and win us the game, it was all right. It just felt like it was supposed to go in. That team was kind of a team of destiny. We always talked about going to the national championship the whole year. It just felt right. It felt like that was the shot Jordan was going to make. He put in so much time. He was one of the best shooters in the country that year. He was the guy we wanted taking that shot for sure.”
Williams-Goss: “I mean it could’ve been Perk and Jordan or it could’ve been me and Silas. It didn’t matter. I think that was something that was so special and unique about that team was that we put the greater good in front of all of our individual stuff and I think that’s what made it so fun to play.”
Mathews: “It means more to me that we were able to do what we did that season. 37-2. National championship game that came down to the wire. That shot, it’s basketball, I felt like any of us could’ve made it, it just happened to be me. I’m glad I was able to help because that was my only year at Gonzaga, and I’m glad I was able to leave a lasting impact.”