Monday, May 6, 2024
Gatesville basketball stopped their longest losing streak in two years with a 71-59 win over Robinson on Jan. 23 in a game that was not nearly as close as the score would indicate.
On Jan. 19, Gatesville fell to La Vega 74-57 to drop to 0-3 in district play. It was their first three-game losing streak since January of 2022, but, in their first must-win game of the year, they blasted the Rockets to get right back into the playoff hunt.
The Hornets never trailed in the game and led 17-6 after the first quarter. They broke the game open midway through the second quarter. West Allman and Kase Cox keyed an 8-2 run that turned a 24-12 lead into a 32-14 lead.
Allman started the run with a runner in the lane to give Gatesville a 26-12 lead. Following a Robinson timeout, Charlie Winkler found Allman for an alley-oop dunk and a 28-12 lead. Allman stole the ensuing inbounds pass and converted to push the lead to 30-12. After a Robinson bucket stopped the bleeding, a Cox putback pushed the lead to 32-14.
Allman finished the game with 17 points, and Cox had 12. Rayshon Smith led all scorers with 19 points in his best offensive game of the season. Smith, who came off the bench for the first time this season, scored 14 of his points on layups and connected on 5-of-7 free throw attempts.
Winkler, Graceson Stewart, and Scout Hall each had six points in the game. Winkler buried the Hornets’ only two three-pointers of the night, and Hall was also a disruption for the Hornets on the defensive end.
Against La Vega, the Hornets fell behind 11-0 and never recovered. They battled back and were down eight after the first quarter, but the Pirates seemingly did not miss over the second and third quarters to blow the game open. They shot 57% over the middle periods and connected on seven of their nine three-pointers in the second and third quarters.
Smith led Gatesville in scoring with 12 points against La Vega, while Allman had 11, and Winkler had 10. Cox had six points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Through four games of district play, La Vega sits atop the standings at 4-0. Connally is 3-1, and Robinson is 2-2. Salado, China Spring, and Gatesville are all 1-3.
Gatesville and China Spring faced off on Jan. 26 in the final game of the first round of district, and the winner would likely jump into the third-place spot in the playoff standings.
