Last Thursday, the Gatewood Gators traveled to Windsor Academy, on the south side of Macon, to take on Brentwood in the opening game of the GIAA Region 2-2A tournament, where they fell 74-56 to the War Eagles.
The Gators returned the following afternoon to take on the host Windsor Knights, then headed back to Eatonton with a solid 74-45 victory. That set up a date this Wednesday night at home (past press time) against No. 12 Heritage Prep, out of Atlanta.
“We came out firing on all cylinders,” Gatewood head coach Don Keiser said of Friday night’s effort that left the Gators ranked No. 5 for state playoffs.
“It was a much, much better game for us,” he added, alluding to the disappointment of game one. “But of course, it wasn’t against such a tough opponent that we could end up facing again."
Thursday night produced an uneven effort from the Gators, who led 15-12 after the opening quarter but started playing from behind by halftime, with Brentwood ahead by one point at 28-27. After the half, the War Eagles from Sandersville pulled away with a 25-16 third quarter to make it 53-43, then scored 21 more points in the fourth quarter to reach the final score.
Though leading scorer Matt Allen delivered a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Gators, the junior uncharacteristically struggled at distance, hitting only 1-of-11 three-point attempts.
Kaden Keiser also reached double digits in scoring at 10 points with seven boards, while fellow senior Ames Johnson contributed seven points with a pair of rebounds.
Meanwhile, Brentwood freshman Tristan Robinson scored 23 points, Baylor Cobb had 22, and Khaden Walker contributed 19 points to do most of the damage against Gatewood.
“It just wasn’t our night. I don’t know. We just had a weird look in our eyes. I felt like we played well at first, but our shots weren’t falling. I think we got down a little bit about that,” Keiser said immediately after Thursday’s loss to Brentwood.
He also conceded Brentwood’s shooters were “definitely hitting their shots” while his players struggled and gave up some bad turnovers.
"I don't know if it was the trip or the early start (4:30 p.m.), but I feel like we just weren’t awake; we weren’t playing like ourselves," Keiser said.
The No. 5 seeded Gators (19-5, 6-2) will play the GIAA Region 1-2A Heritage Preparatory Rams (10-8) at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Eatonton. The winner will travel to face Brentwood (20-4) on Saturday afternoon.
“If we make it, it’ll be the 15th time in four years that we’ll play them,” Keiser said of the potential rematch against Brentwood, which would be their fourth meeting this season. “Right now, we’re 11-4 against them, so I really hope it happens.”