PUTNAM COUNTY
The Gatewood boys’ basketball team is playing well for head coach Don Keiser so far this season.
The Gators are currently 3-1 and have only four more games before the end of the year. They will then face a tough stretch following the winter break. Gatewood defeated John Hancock Academy 69-18 on Nov. 21 to open its season. The Gators then beat Peachtree Academy 70-48 last Monday before falling to GMC Prep 54-45 the next day.
“We lost by nine points. We couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” Keiser said of the loss to the Bulldogs. “We played the night before and only had one practice the week of Thanksgiving. I really don’t think we had our legs, and if that happens, shots don’t go in.”
Gatewood faced a tough opponent on the road last Thursday against Trinity Christian of Dublin but came away with a huge 60-56 victory over the Crusaders.
“Trinity went in and beat GMC on Friday,” Keiser said. “Trinity, which is in [GIAA] class 2A, is one of the toughest teams in our league. They’ve got a 6-foot-5 guy … who’s from overseas. That was a big win for us, especially after losing to GMC.”
Gatewood is averaging 61.0 points per contest through its first four games and are giving up only 44 points per game, but Keiser thinks they can do better.
“We’ve gotten the shots we want, but we aren’t hitting them right now. When we start hitting our shots like I know we can, that’s going to put us into another level,” he said. “We’re getting good looks, but the shots are just not falling for us right now.”
One positive Keiser has taken away from his team’s first four games is the maximum effort he’s seen from his players.
“The great thing I like about this team is its hustle. We’ve also out-rebounded almost every team we’ve played,” Keiser said. “There’s only one game I can think of when we got out-rebounded, which was against GMC. With the hustle and the steals, everybody is just really moving great. That’s the thing I am most excited about for us.”
Gatewood has three players that are currently averaging double-digits in scoring, too.
Matt Allen leads the team so far with 14.7 points per game, followed by Jackson Morris with 12 points on average. Kaiden Keiser also is averaging 10 points per contest, with Walker Roberts just one point away from scoring double-digits every game.
“That’s awesome that I’ve almost got four guys that are averaging double-figures,” Keiser said. “It’s been a team effort. It really has. The whole team has been doing their job.”
Harrison Kelly is Gatewood’s leading rebounder and is pulling down eight boards per game. Walker, Keiser and Blake Callaway are all averaging seven rebounds a night.
Next up for the Gators are rematches at John Hancock Academy (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) and GMC Prep (Friday, 7:30 p.m.). They will then face Young Americans Christian in Conyers on Dec. 12, and Briarwood Academy on Dec. 17, in Eatonton.
“We’ve got two games this week against teams that we’ve already played - John Hancock and GMC,” Keiser said. “Next week, we’re playing a GAPPs team in Young Americans Christian. We’ve never played them. I know they’ve been good in the past, but it doesn’t look like they’re winning a lot this year. I really don’t recognize the teams they’re playing against, either. And then we’ve got Briarwood, which is one of our region foes. They’re not in our region anymore, but we’ll end with that.”