After ending 2024 with a loss to Athens Academy on Dec. 28, Gatewood returned to winning ways last Friday with a 74-53 win over Mount De Sales.
The Gators followed up the next day at First Presbyterian Day, boosting their season record to 10-2 with a dominating 67-27 victory in Macon.
Despite finishing with a 21-point advantage over MDS, head coach Don Keiser recalled the much tighter 79-76 game that his squad won about three weeks earlier over the Cavaliers, also in Macon.
“This is a good team,” Keiser said of MDS. “I’m very excited [about the win]. We needed this so badly for the rankings, but we needed this type of win against a really good team. Plus, probably besides Athens Academy, this is the best team we’ve played all year.”
As most probably expected, Gatewood junior Matt Allen did the most damage for the home team, draining 47 points through the hoop, including six three-pointers. No one else reached double digits on the stat sheet for the Gators.
Regardless, Keiser called it “a good team win,” and while acknowledging Allen’s efforts, he stressed, “Everyone played great; everybody really contributed tonight.
“I thought it was a great job by all that played. I really thought everybody stepped up and did their part,” Keiser continued. “I thought Jake Rich did a great job. We just don’t want him jumping. He’s 6-foot-6, so we tell him, ‘Just keep your hands up, you don’t have to jump, just get in the way.’ That’s all we need.”
MDS got off to a great start in Eatonton, jumping out to an eight-point lead early in the first quarter, but Gatewood recovered to hold an 18-16 lead at the end of the period.
The Gators then led 38-34 at the half.
“They got up on us because we were not doing what we know to do: the simple things,” Keiser said. “But then [the players] started listening. They started talking about defense, and it made such a huge difference. I mean, a huge difference. “They started doing exactly what we told them, and the points started coming. We had worked in practice on swinging the ball, just keep passing it, passing it, passing it, and then shooting. But we came out, two passes, shoot, two passes, shoot. Then we started swinging it more and being more patient, and then the shots just came.
“But I thought everybody played their role very well,” Keiser concluded. “It was a great team win that we really needed.”
The Gators will play Windsor Academy at home on Jan. 7 (after press time) in their first region game of the season. They will visit Brentwood in Sandersville on Jan. 9 for another regional game. They will then play at home on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., starting against Augusta Prep Day.