WCAC Player Of The Year Chris Lykes Hunting Coveted Championship Trophy

Remember the coin flip that decided the No. 1 seed in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament last week? It doesn’t matter anymore. All it really did, at the end of the day, was decide what color uniforms will be worn and what benches No. 22 Paul VI (VA) and No. 23 Gonzaga (DC) will sit on come Monday night at American University in Washington, D.C.

The two best teams in one of the toughest leagues in the country will decide the championship.

That’s not to discredit the roads it took to get to this game, however. Top-seed Paul VI needed to escape DeMatha 59-55 in the semifinals Sunday after beating Bishop McNamara 70-56 at home the day before, while second-seed Gonzaga handled Bishop Ireton 62-47 before pummeling a tough St. John’s squad 66-33 to advance to the title contest.

Paul VI and Gonzaga met in two nationally ranked matchups during the regular season. Each time, the home team took care of business. It’s only fitting the rubber match will be on a neutral court in a crazy atmosphere.

The storylines for this highly anticipated game are plentiful. Yet, no one will get the buzz or attention like 5-foot-8 Gonzaga point guard Chris Lykes, who was named the conference’s player of the year for the second straight season on Sunday.

Lykes hasn’t exactly torched Paul VI this season, though. He put up 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting in the road loss on January 17 and 12 points on 6-for-15 shooting in the home win on February 14.

Still, if there is someone to keep an eye on, it will be Lykes as he tries to hoist the coveted trophy to highlight an already stellar senior season.

(Highlights courtesy of Krossover)