Thursday, April 18, 2024
CHAMPIONS AGAIN: The varsity Gatesville Hornets boys basketball team continued its winning ways on the hardwood over the weekend, improving to 13-1 and winning first place in the Ted Jones Memorial Tournament on Dec. 10.
At various points during the Ted Jones Memorial Tournament championship game, the Gatesville Hornets looked fatigued, frustrated, embattled, and out-of-sync.
But when it was over, they looked just like they did one week prior in Salado. Like champs.
Playing a game that was in doubt late in the fourth quarter for the first time in almost a month, the Hornets used a 15-0 run over the final four minutes to dispatch a physical, competitive Little River Academy squad 67-50 and capture their second tournament championship in as many weeks. It was also the Hornets’ second win of the season over Academy — a perennial Class 3A power that went to the state tournament in 2021 and has not lost a district game since 2019.
According to head coach Brit Campbell, a closer-than-usual contest against a great opponent was exactly what the streaking Hornets needed.
“I think it was good for us to have to respond and have a really strong finish and come out of that game on top,” he said. “It was a great game to get experience like that.”
Guard Trae Miller said the close game was a reminder that his squad can’t just show up and win.
“I’m super glad we played a close physical game with Academy,” Miller said. “In my opinion with us not playing many close games this season I feel like a close game like that helps us realize we are still a beatable team and will make us work even harder.”
It would be hard to argue that anyone modeled hard work more over the Hornets’ four-game tournament stretch than Miller. He was surely the Hornets most consistent player against Academy, turning in a seven point, nine rebound, three assist night that earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
“Trae is very important to us because of everything he does. He is our floor general and on-court leader both offensively and defensively and is an ultimate teammate,” said Campbell.
Miller added, “I feel like my role is helping keep everyone keep their heads up in games when things aren’t going our way,”.
Things certainly weren’t going the Hornets way in the third quarter against the Bumblebees. They held a 38-29 lead before Academy battled back with an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 42-40.
A Carter Williams 3-pointer gave Gatesville a 45-40 lead after three quarters that was upped to 48-40 after Banner Allman drilled a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter. Another three-pointer, this one from West Allman, upped the lead to 52-42 before Academy made another charge and cut the lead to 52-48 thanks to a 3-pointer from Cooper Chase.
That’s when the Hornets found another gear and simply outran the Bees.
West Allman started with an elbow jumper to make it 54-48, then Williams picked up a foul on Academy’s terrific Scout Brazeal and knocked down a free throw to make it 55-48.
A Bumblebee layup cut their deficit to 55-50 before a layup from Banner Allman pushed the lead to 57-50 and started a run in which the Hornets scored the final 12 points of the game.
After Allman’s layup, they got layups from Rayshon Smith and Williams to push the lead to 11. Then Smith found a streaking Shea for a dunk to make it 63-50. Because one highlight dunk just wasn’t enough, Shea – who was named Tournament MVP for the second week in a row — immediately picked off an Academy pass and finished with a one-handed dunk before Banner Allman capped the scoring and the tournament with a layup to seal the 17-point win.
Banner Allman led all scorers in the win with 18 – nine of which came in the fourth quarter. He was followed by Shea who finished with 17 points to go along with ten rebounds. West Allman had 12, Williams had nine, and Smith chipped in four.
It was quite a finishing push for a team that largely features a six-man rotation and that was playing its eighth game in ten days.
“Playing eight games in 10 days takes a huge toll on the body and is very tiring but we take care of our bodies to make sure we are always ready to play,” Miller said.
Despite the effort needed the last two weeks, Campbell said his players appear to be doing fine physically. He also added that even if they weren’t, it would be hard to tell.
“I feel like we are in really good shape and that we made it through the December tournament season very well so far,” he said. “But these guys want to keep playing and competing know so it’s going to be hard to notice if we are a little tired.”
In addition to feeling the effects of tournament season, the Hornets also have to contend with the potential pressure that comes from an 11-game winning streak.
“I don’t think they feel the pressure of it, I do think they want to continue it. I still think they are proud of what we have done, are confident when we take the court, and want to continue this as long as we can,” Campbell said.
The Hornets topped Comanche 71-42 in the tournament semifinal Friday. They were led by Shea’s 20 points and Banner Allman’s 18.
In the opener against Eastland, the Hornets led 46-36 at the half and by 13 after three quarters en route to their 11-point win. Shea led four Hornets in double figures with 22 points — all of which came in the paint - and added 16 rebounds.
Rayshon Smith had his second-highest scoring output of the year with 18 points. He was the Hornets’ best offensive weapon in the third quarter as Eastland continued to fire away from beyond the arc. It seemed as if every time a Maverick made a 3-pointer in the quarter Smith countered with a layup.
The win also featured a remarkable lack of whistles. There were six fouls called in the game — two against the Hornets, who were 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
The evening matchup with Clifton was another opportunity for the Hornets to exact a measure of revenge from previous seasons. The 25-point win over the Cubs was their sixth this season against a team that defeated them during the 2021-22 season.
Shea and Allman each turned in double-doubles in the win. Shea scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Allman scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds. They were complemented by an 18-point night from West Allman and a 13-point, 5-assist night from Williams. Ethan Nichols chipped in three and Scout Hall added a bucket as well.
The Hornets hosted West on Tuesday and will travel down Highway 84 for a matchup with McGregor on Dec. 16. They are scheduled to play at Llano on Dec. 19 before taking a nine-day break for Christmas, then heading to their final regular-season tournament, Dec. 28 in Brownwood.
