The Gatewood Gators wrapped up their 2024-25 regular season last Tuesday night with an 80-70 win over the visiting Central Fellowship Christian Academy Lancers.
The victory not only avenged a 71-59 loss to CFCA in Macon about three weeks earlier, but it also boosted Gatewood from third to second in the region rankings and preserved a perfect record at home that extends back to the first game of last season.
“That’s 24 games in a row that we’ve won at home,” Gators head coach Don Keiser pointed out. “Now we just have to go to Macon this Thursday and take care of business in the region tournament. We’re playing Brentwood again there, who we just beat (77-70, Jan. 31), so hopefully we can do that again.”
In last week’s game, junior Matt Allen and senior Kaden Keiser again led Gatewood in scoring, with both recording double-doubles. Allen drained 38 points with 13 rebounds, and K. Keiser scored 17 while grabbing 13 boards. Senior JT Gregory added 14 points to the Gators’ total, plus four rebounds on the night.
“I’m really proud of these guys, the way they just keep digging, keep scoring,” the coach said. “If the whole team keeps playing like they have, we’ll be okay.”
Keiser explained that if Gatewood can win the region tournament, it will be seeded among the state's top four, earning the team a first-round bye. However, if finishing fifth or worse, the Gators would host in the first round of the playoffs.
“As much as we love our fans here, we don’t want to do that,” he said. “We want to be first all the way, but it all comes down to the rankings, so we just have to wait and see.”
Gatewood (18-4, 6-2) and Brentwood (19-3, 5-3) are scheduled to tipoff at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at Windsor Academy on the south side of Macon.