By the end of the opening quarter, the visiting Rebels from John Hancock Academy probably wished they’d never made the trip to the Gators’ lair in Eatonton.
When the first quarter ended after just eight minutes, Gatewood was up 31-5. By halftime, the margin was 54-9, and head coach Don Keiser was already subbing in his freshmen and sophomore players for some valuable game experience.
With mostly underclassmen on the court throughout the second half, Gatewood led 71-22 after three quarters and finished with a 76-28 victory to put its first mark in the win column.
As the game started, junior star Matt Allen wasted no time making his presence known by nailing a nothing-but-net 3-pointer early, followed by a dominating dunk from straight down the center court. Allen, who surpassed the career 1,000-point mark last season as a sophomore, finished as the Gators’ top scorer with 19, despite sitting out the game since early in the third quarter.
Following Allen on the Gator’s scoring list were senior Kaden Keiser with 15 points, sophomores Luke Martin and Landon Moreno with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and senior JT Gregory also in double digits with 10 points.
Though senior Jake Rich had only four points to his name, his coach praised him as a valuable asset this season.
“What a big change he’s made,” Keiser said of Rich. “He was controlling the boards, and we need to have him come up big like that this year. He’s really just coming to his own. I mean, this year, I can see it. I can see a difference in his confidence and everything.”
“And Landon (Moreno), he stepped up really good and just played like he did this summer, and I’m so glad Lake Furman came out again, and then we got Blake Brannen, he’s a freshman and football guy that I’ve got in my top eight, so I’m just real excited.”
Keiser was also impressed by the play of senior Ames Johnson, who hadn’t played competitive basketball since his freshman year, returned to the court on Monday night. Johnson was strong defensively, and though he accounted for only two points on the scoresheet, they came from an end-to-end dash up the court as he weaved his way through the entire JMA team.
“I know Ames has [not] played in a while, but he’s a leader, he’s a quarterback, and quarterbacks get respect,” Keiser said. “And he’s used to making quick decisions, so I’m very excited to have Ames come out.”
Keiser also said Allen and his son, Kaden, “could be the two best guards in GISA this year. I’d put them up against anyone.”
With such a wealth of positives, Keiser can see only one negative derailing the Gators: the injury bug that got them late last season.
“Man, the only thing that I could see that could really hurt us this year is if it creeps in on my first eight. I really feel like I’ve got eight who could go up against anyone in the league. But I guess we’ll see what happens.”