Hornets split with Salado and La Vega, still chasing playoff spot

Thanks to a split in games against Salado and La Vega, Gatesville basketball is still in the hunt for a playoff spot with two regular season games to play.

The Hornets beat Salado 67-47 on Feb. 2. Then they fell to league-leading La Vega 63-34 on Feb. 6 leaving them 2-6 in district play with games against Robinson and China Spring left on their schedule. There are a variety of scenarios that could still play out for the Hornets:

• Gatesville could finish as the No. 3 seed in the district with wins over the Rockets and the Cougars.
• A loss to Robinson and a win over China Spring would likely mean a district playoff against the Cougars for the No. 4 spot. A win over Robinson and a loss to China Spring would also likely result in a playoff between Gatesville and China Spring for the final spot.
• A pair of losses would leave the Hornets outside of the postseason. That would leave the Rockets as the No. 3 seed and China Spring in the No. 4 spot.

The final two regular season games are must-wins for Gatesville, and they can look back to the Salado win for evidence of how they play in those situations. A loss to the Eagles would have all but ended Gatesville’s playoff hopes – something not lost on head coach Brit Campbell.

“I thought it was a must-win. So did our guys,” Campbell said. “We acknowledged it, talked about it, and then just said ‘let’s go play,’ and that’s what we did.”

The win over the Eagles was Gatesville’s most complete win since non-district as seven players scored with four hitting double-digits. Charlie Winkler and West Allman had 13 points apiece, while Kase Cox and Scout Hall had ten points each. Amos Phillips had nine points, and Rayshon Smith had eight.

Allman led in rebounding with nine, while Cox had eight and Hall had seven.

The Hornets were helped in large part by a quick start. They raced to a 17-9 first quarter lead that ballooned to 38-22 by halftime. In the fourth, they led by as many as 24 points.

Winkler’s hot hand sparked Gatesville in the first half as the sophomore sharpshooter knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the second quarter. His first triple gave Gatesville a 20-12 lead. Then his second upped the lead to 25-14. Later in the quarter, his third three-pointer was part of an 11-3 run that closed the half for the Hornets.

Scout Hall sparked the Hornet offense in a variety of ways. He picked up a steal and a layup for his first points, then hit a floater, a putback, and a second-half three pointer to complete a 4-for-5 shooting night. Hall and Allman led the team with two steals each.

Allman – Gatesville’s leading scorer of the season – opened the scoring for Gatesville with a free throw and an alley-oop dunk in the first quarter, then picked up a steal and another dunk in the fourth to give Gatesville their biggest lead at 64-40.

La Vega has clinched at least a share of the district title and sits at 8-0, while Connally is 6-2. Robinson is 4-4 with Gatesville and China Spring both 2-6 in district. Salado is 1-7.

The Hornets visit Robinson on Feb. 9. Then they finish the regular season at home against the Cougars on Feb. 13.