Gateway boys get ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ during up-and-down year

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

When Gateway’s season ended in a 60-52 loss against Mechanicsburg in the PIAA Class 5A first round, coach Alvis Rogers told his team not to hang their heads.

“I told them they should be proud,” said Rogers. “They did some good things this year and put in a lot of hard work.”

The Gators (18-9, 7-3), who were without key contributors, were down 18-8 after the first quarter deficit but fought back to make it 55-50 with just over two minutes to go in the game. They weren’t able to get any closer.

“We had our chances during the game, but we just didn’t take care of the basketball or get enough defensive rebounds,” Rogers said. “We also took ill-advised shots when we got close.”

Sophomore guard Mykel Bruce-McCrommon was out with a broken wrist, sophomore guard Chris Settles had suffered a concussion and was unavailable, and senior guard/forward Alex Lowry was playing with a bad ankle.

Those losses forced the Gators’ young bench into unfamiliar roles.

“I’ve always told them to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and we did a good job of that this year,” he said. “At the start of the year, nobody expected us to do anything, so it was one of those things were we just had to play and be us.”

Senior forward Alec Dunsmore, who averaged 11 points a game during the season to lead the team, was held in check against Mechanicsburg with five points.

Freshman Asaan Wallace-Ross led the Gators with 12 points while junior Steph Ricketts and senior Vito Campolo each contributed 11.

Even with their injuries, which Rogers said he won’t use as an excuse, the Gators did some good things and showed a lot of fight.

“We were relying on young guys who haven’t played at the varsity level to make the right play both offensively and defensively,” said Rogers. “They did some good things for us, but by the same token, whenever we did one thing well, we did two things bad. That hurt us as well. But we continued to battle.”

Gateway’s one-step-forward, two-steps-back play against Mechanicsburg was a microcosm for the season as a whole.

After opening the season 2-1, the Gators went on to win 10 straight and secured a No. 1 ranking in the Trib HSSN Class 5A power rankings and were No. 4 in the PIAA Class 5A rankings.

There were positives to take away from their win streak. In all but one of their wins, the Gators held their opponents to under 50 points, something Rogers preached to his team at the start of the year.

“I feel if you keep teams under 50, you’re going to win your games in the WPIAL, for the most part,” said Rogers. “We played as a team and defended as a team, but somewhere along the line, we lost that edge in our defensive game.”

The Gators finished the season allowing just over 50 points a game (50.9) and scoring an average of 54.9.

The team felt good heading into its game against Latrobe but fell 63-60 and went on to lose four of its next five before rebounding and winning four of five to close the regular season.

Their only loss in the last part of their schedule was a 49-41 defeat at the hands of Franklin Regional with the section title on the line.

After that game, a handful of players decided to leave the team.

“Those were players who started for us, were all-section players and guys we counted on,” said Rogers, who didn’t mention anyone specifically.

“That hurt more than anything because we were in a good spot, I thought. We still had a lot to fight for with the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs coming up.”

So, without some talented players, the Gators forged on into the WPIAL 5A playoffs and took down Penn Hills in the first round. It was the third time that Gateway had beaten the Indians during the year.

Next, they took on Franklin Regional for the third time were bested, 53-35, leaving them to navigate through the WPIAL consolation bracket for a shot at the PIAA playoffs.

In the consolation first round, they lost to Bethel Park, 55-53, but rebounded to defeat Kiski Area, 53-51, to earn the WPIAL’s seventh seed and a date with Mechanicsburg.

“The game against Bethel Park was a game we should have won,” said Rogers. “We were at home, which should have played in our favor, but it didn’t. We were better on the road than we were at home all year, which was strange because it’s usually the other way.”

Even though the season progressed like a roller coaster and didn’t end the way any of the Gators wanted it, there is promise for next season.

Gateway loses seven seniors, including the team’s second-leading scorer in Lowry (11 ppg), leading rebounder Alec Dunsmore (6.7 rpg) and guards Campolo and Bryson Pavlik.

“We’re going to be young as far as minutes played,” said Rogers. “Our guys who are returning, those guys are going to have to lead and that’s the hard thing, finding leaders who will lead by example and be vocal.”

Ricketts will be the leading senior and will team with Wallace-Ross to provide a solid backcourt while Settles will be a talented swingman and Mykel Bruce-McCrommon will look to rebound from a season riddled with injuries.

When next year rolls around, the Gators’ goals will remain the same.

“We want to win our section and win states,” Rogers stated. “We’re not trying to be a just a good team, but we’re trying to build a good program.”

Tags: Gateway