Three up, three down has been the fate of the Gators’ basketball opponents since New Year’s Day, as the Gatewood boys have convincingly beaten First Presbyterian Day (FPD), Briarwood Academy, and Georgia Military College so far in 2024.
FPD visited Eatonton on Jan. 3 and fell behind 29-14 by the end of the first quarter and trailed 56-22 at the half.
With a 77-37 advantage after three quarters, Gators head coach Don Keiser began giving his back-ups and JV players some game time experience in the final quarter, which went 20-8 in favor of FPD, but the scoreboard read 85-57 favoring Gatewood.
“This was our best team win of the year so far,” Keiser declared afterward. “We played as a team, worked it around, saw the open man, made passes, layups, just did everything right.
“I was just very excited about the team effort, the way they looked for the extra man, looked for the extra pass. And everybody just seemed to have fun tonight. It was just, something lit up the air,” he added.
In Warrenton Friday night to face Briarwood, the Gators came out firing, led by sophomore Matt Allen with 36 points and junior Kaden Keiser with 27 points contributing to a 76-48 Gatewood win.
The next day, back in Eatonton, Gatewood hosted Georgia Military College (GMC), from just a few miles down Hwy. 441 in Milledgeville. The result was very much the same, with the Gators holding a 42-25 advantage at the half and winning 79-48 with back-ups and JV players inserted for much of the final quarter.
Allen scored a career-high 46 points in Saturday night’s win over GMC, while Keiser scored 17, again accounting for the only double-digit scorers in the Gators’ lineup.
“Man, if I’d known Matt was at a career-high I would’ve left him in,” Keiser said after the game. “I didn’t know, nobody told me. It would’ve been good to see him keep going.”
Regardless, the coach was pleased.
“Just another full team win. I told them before the game tonight, we’re at our best when we push it, push the ball deep, keep the pressure on,” Keiser said. “And when we play like a team, we’re scary, because we go in little spurts. I love our little spurts. I mean, we can put 20 on you quickly, 15, 10 on you. I mean, just quick. And I thought our defense was awesome tonight, too.”
The Gators currently enjoy a 9-1 overall record with four games coming up this week, beginning at home Tuesday against Augusta Prep Day (after press time). They then visit Thomas Jefferson Academy in Louisville on Jan. 11, Windsor Academy in Macon on Jan. 12, and return home to host Westfield on Friday night.
“I’ve never played three games in a row here before,” Keiser said. “This is going to be a real test for our guys.”