Gateway boys basketball aims for strong finish

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 1, 2019 | 7:48 PM

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The Gateway boys basketball team scored a 39-36 victory over Section 1-5A foe Laurel Highlands on Jan. 29.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak and kept the young Gators squad alive for the WPIAL playoffs.

“We needed that,” junior R.J. Stevenson said. “The goal is to get the fourth spot (in the section) for the playoffs. It was like a playoff game for us.”

Coach Alvis Rogers hopes his team, 4-12 overall and 2-7 in the section after the triumph, can make some noise before the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign.

“We saw some good things (against Laurel Highlands) come from what we’ve been working hard on in practice over the past couple of weeks,” Rogers said. “We knew it was going to be a grind, and we knew the importance of finishing games.”

Sophomore Bonzi Parks led the Gators with 11 points. Stevenson added nine.

“We were up 11 or 12 at halftime, and I always tell the guys the third quarter is always the quarter, and they have to be ready,” Rogers said.

“We came out flat in the third and turned the ball over. In their youth, they were confident the game was over, but there was a lot of time left. To their credit, they stepped up and finished the game.”

Gateway was scheduled to face the two teams immediately above them in the section standings — Greensburg Salem and Albert Gallatin — over a four-day period.

Friday’s matchup with Greensburg Salem and Tuesday’s contest at home against Albert Gallatin were to be played past the deadline for this week’s edition.

Albert Gallatin owned the fourth and final playoff spot from the section at 3-6.

Greensburg Salem was a half game behind Albert Gallatin and a half game ahead of Gateway at 3-7 prior to Friday’s crucial matchup with the Gators.

Gateway came into the season with 10 straight trips to the WPIAL playoffs.

The recent frigid temperatures that gripped the region forced the Gateway School District to close Wednesday and Thursday. That meant no practice for the Gators either day.

“It was a little frustrating to not be able to get the team together to work on some things before the game with Greensburg Salem and some other big games coming up,” Rogers said. “We wanted to throw some new wrinkles in and things like that. The kids wanted to practice, too, because they knew the opportunities in front of them, and they wanted to get better.”

The six-game slide halted by the win over Laurel Highlands began with a 53-42 loss to Greensburg Salem and a close 51-49 setback to Albert Gallatin.

With a roster of only two seniors along with five juniors and a sizable group of 13 sophomores, Rogers expected some growing pains as the team improved.

“My coaching staff and I came into the season without many expectations,” Rogers said. “But we just wanted to compete and see where we stood. The younger players have improved a lot over the past couple of months and stepped up. We’re not done yet this year, but I am excited for what we can do down the road into next season.”

Parks came out of the Laurel Highlands game leading the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game, while Stevenson checked in at 9.8 a contest.

Also among the offensive leaders for the Gators have been sophomore Hunter Hicks (7.1 ppg.) and freshman Will Kromka (6.6).

Senior 6-foot-6 forward Nate Roper was limited in the win over Laurel Highlands because of a nagging elbow issue. Rodgers said junior forward Brenden Edgar came in and gave the team a lift.

“Nate tried to gut it out, but it was bothering him,” Rogers said. “I sat him down, and we went smaller. It’s something where he’s going to have to tolerate the pain, which he has done. He’s not one to complain.”

Roper scored a team-best 20 points in Gateway’s loss to Penn Hills on Jan. 22.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Gateway