Thursday, March 27, 2025
Gatesville basketball took care of their business, got the help they needed, and are playoff-bound for the fourth straight season.
By virtue of their 59-47 win over Lorena and La Vega’s 59-51 victory over upstart China Spring, the Hornets locked up the No. 4 playoff spot out of 23-4A and will face old rival Lampasas in the Division I bi-district round Feb. 18 in Bruceville-Eddy.
The final two nights of the regular season featured dramatic swings in momentum for Gatesville and China Spring.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Gatesville controlled their own fate and just needed a pair of losses from China Spring to clinch a playoff spot. Gatesville lost 72-44 to La Vega on Feb. 7, but the Cougars pulled off a surprising upset of Connally the same night to take a one-game lead in the district standings.
That result meant that Gatesville needed to beat Lorena – who had dealt the Hornets a double-digit defeat three weeks ago - then hope that the red-hot Cougars did not pull off another stunner against the Pirates.
After dispatching the Leopards, a large contingent of Gatesville players, coaches, family members, and fans huddled around phones and packed themselves into Brit Campbell’s office to watch the final six minutes of the matchup between the Pirates and Cougars.
Once the Pirates had secured their win, a wave of handshakes, high-fives, and relief swept through those remaining at Sydney Pruitt Gymnasium.
“That felt good,” said Campbell.
The Hornets’ head coach has much to feel good about considering how his team played in the biggest game of their season and how they will fare now that they have escaped the gauntlet that is 23-4A. The district schedule leaves every team beat up, worn out, and simply trying to survive and advance to the playoffs.
“It’s been so frustrating at times. I honestly felt like we just couldn’t catch a break,” said Campbell. “Now, I feel like we got our guys back and we are excited.”
In what was essentially a playoff game against the Leopards, Campbell and his staff pushed all the right buttons and got valuable minutes from every player on the roster in avenging their previous district loss – perhaps none bigger than senior Kase Cox.
The three-year letterman played all 32 minutes and poured in a career-high 29 points in the win. Cox knocked down a three-pointer to start the Gatesville scoring in the opening period and never looked back.
He scored seven points in the first quarter, eight in the second, eight more in the third, then another six in the final period.
He scored 22 of his 29 points in the paint via an array of runners, floaters, and putbacks. He pulled down six rebounds, had three assists, and forced three turnovers.
West Allman was Gatesville’s other double-digit scorer with 15, including three three-pointers and also dished out a career-high seven assists.
The Senior Night finale was the 100th game that Cox and Allman have played together in a Gatesville uniform, and their chemistry was evident throughout the night. The duo combined for ten assists with eight coming to each other. Six of Allman’s assists were to Cox, and two of Cox’s assists were to Allman.
Charlie Winkler also had seven assists and zero turnovers in playing every minute of the game. He also pulled down five rebounds and picked up a steal. The Hornets committed just nine turnovers on the night against steady, full-court defense from the Leopards.
After a deadlocked first quarter, the Hornets dominated the second to take a 33-18 lead.
Senior Evan McCracken buried a three pointer to give the Hornets a 19-16 lead early in the period. Then Allman followed with a transition layup to make it 21-16. Lorena cut the lead to 21-18 with 3:07 to play in the quarter before the Hornets closed with a 12-0 run into halftime.
Allman hit a mid-range jumper to make it 23-18; then Amos Phillips knocked down a free throw to push the lead to six at 24-18. Winkler then hit Allman for a corner three-pointer to make it 27-18 before Cox finished the half on his own personal 6-0 run.
He knocked a ball loose on the defensive end and finished with a layup to push the lead to 29-18, then scored on a nifty layup to make it 31-18. The final bucket of the quarter came when McCracken found Cox cutting to the hoop, and the senior laid it in to make it 33-18 at the half.
Lorena would get as close as nine points in the second half before the Hornets pushed the lead to the 59-47 final.
The win over Lorena was the final home game for Allman, Logan Biggs, Cox, McCracken, and Rex Owen. Biggs had two steals in his usual disruptive defensive performance, and Owen had one steal while taking his turn defending Lorena’s bruising center Seth Taverner. Junior Amos Phillips had eight points and six rebounds in the win, while freshman Grady Keeton had three points and two rebounds.
The Hornets primary ballhandlers - Winkler, Keeton, Biggs, and McCracken – combined for nine assists against just two turnovers against Lorena.
In the loss to La Vega, Winkler led Gatesville in scoring with 15 points, while Cox and Allman each had ten. Phillips had six points and six rebounds to share the rebounding lead with Allman.
The Hornets’ matchup against Lampasas will be their first since the Badgers defeated Gatesville 58-56 in November 2023. The Hornets and Badgers played twice in 2022 with Gatesville winning both by double-digits.
