Friday, April 26, 2024
Thanks to a 79-57 win over Little River Academy on Tuesday, Gatesville basketball is off to a 4-1 start, their best stretch to open a season since 2008.
Since starting 2-0 the Hornets have won two of their last three, beating Little River Academy and Lampasas by double digits while dropping a 59-55 contest to state-ranked Lorena just before Thanksgiving. All four wins this season have avenged 2021 losses against those same opponents.
Five Hornets scored in double digits in the Hornets home win over the Bumblebees. Tyler Shea and West Allman each had 14 while Carter Williams and Banner Allman scored 13 points apiece. Rayshon Smith added 12.
For Williams it was his highest scoring output and the best all-around game the senior has played so far this season. He added seven assists and notched four steals in the win.
“I thought Carter played well and made some big plays. He also did a great job all night defensively,” head coach Brit Campbell said. “Nice to have 5 guys score double digits in a great team win.”
Junior guard Trae Miller also turned in a stellar night picking up eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals to go along with 6 points. He had just one turnover. For the game, the Hornets had just ten turnovers against Academy’s consistent full court defense.
“I liked a lot of things we did. Great transition offense, controlled the glass, and took care of the ball pretty well,” Campbell said.
Like they have in all four of their wins, the Hornets benefitted from a pair of extended runs.
In the second quarter they turned an 18-12 lead into a 44-29 halftime advantage. That lead ballooned to 50-29 early in the third quarter before Academy ripped off a run of their own.
The Bees closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run then scored the first bucket of the fourth to cut the lead to 57-47. They closed to within ten again at 64-54 before the Hornets finished the game with a 15-3 run.
“We stepped up and made big plays down the stretch to put them away. It’s nice to see that kind of finish,” Campbell said.
The Hornets currently have a six-man rotation that sees the bulk of their minutes but against Academy, foul trouble meant extended minutes for Kase Cox. The sophomore responded with six points and three rebounds.
The Hornets bench is likely to see more time as Gatesville heads to Salado for tournament play and a stretch of five games in three days. Campbell sees it as an opportunity for improvement for his team – both in the standings and in developing his reserves.
“We want to go win it but it is also great to be able to play a lot of games and have others guys step up and get some great experience without having much preparation,” he said.
The Hornets offensive versatility was on display in the win over their former district rival Lampasas as they had their third different leading scorer in their first four games. Shea was virtually unstoppable with 23 points and 13 rebounds and also led in scoring and rebounding against Lorena.
“We have multiple guys who can be our leading scorer and get 20 points a game. The other guys, they’re not mad about it and it’s going to change depending on what other teams do. So it’s really nice as a coach to not worry about who the actual guy is because they can’t take away just one guy,” Campbell said.
Most of Shea’s offensive attack came by land as he scored in transition, out of sets, and on putbacks. But he also attacked by air.
Up 40-35 to start the second half, senior Trae Miller split a double team, got into the paint, and floated a lob that Shea threw down sending the holiday Hornet crowed into a frenzy. It was one of seven assists for the junior guard.
“Trae’s been begging for that play. I thought it was a perfect way to go start the second half to try and go get a lob alley-oop dunk. That kind of got us going in the third quarter,” Campbell said.
The Hornets allowed just 22 second half points against Lampasas after giving up 19 in the first quarter. On the season, they are giving up just over 49 points per game while averaging 73.
“Typically our defense drives our offense. When we have solid defense that transfers over to offense that is what helps generate our runs,” Campbell said.
In addition to Shea’s double-double, Banner Allman continued his steady all-around play. The senior guard had 18 points and 13 rebounds – including eight on the offensive glass.
“He can play every position offensive or defensively. He can be one of our best shooters, one of our best passers, one of the best rebounds, or one of the best defensive players. …all around he does so many things for us. It’s not always noticed by the average fan but people who know the game pick that stuff out. He’s a guy who can literally play point guard to post offensively or defensively,” Campbell said.
West Allman had 14 in the win over Lampasas while Rayshon Smith had seven. Williams had four points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the win and Cox chipped in two points.
With about a minute to go in their loss to Lorena, it appeared the Hornets would head into the break undefeated. They led 55-54 with 40 second left thanks to a Rayshon Smith free throw but were undone by a pair of turnovers on their final two possessions falling 59-55.
The Hornets led 28-25 at the half and outrebounded the No. 8 Leopards while forcing 17 turnovers.
Shea led in scoring and rebounding against the Leopards with 15 and 8, respectively. Smith had 14 points while Banner Allman had 13 points, five rebounds, and five steals.
