Gateway upsets No. 3 Mars, earns 1st WPIAL semifinal appearance since 2012

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 11:58 PM

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Gateway was only a couple of minute away from upsetting No. 3 seed Mars, but for the Gators, those final moments seemed to last forever.

This was a big moment for a team that hasn’t reached the WPIAL semifinals in a decade.

“That last two minutes felt like an hour,” said junior Jaydon Carr, who made two clinching free throws with five seconds left as No. 6 Gateway finished off a 66-61 victory in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal at Mars.

“They kept fouling back and forth,” he said, “but we made the free throws in the end.”

For Gateway coach Alvis Rogers, those closing minutes felt even longer.

“Eternity,” he said with a laugh.

The Gators used second-chance points and some timely outside shooting to build a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter. They then spent the final minutes holding off a late rally by Mars and a 21-point effort by Zack Schlegel, whocut Gateway’s lead to three with seven seconds left.

Much of the final minute was spent with someone standing at the foul line. The teams combined for 34 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 22 by Gateway, which made 10.

“It felt like an eternity, especially not making free throws on the regular,” Rogers said. “It was exciting, but I was just trying to keep my guys calm. … We kind of got out of character right there at the end, but we got the win and that’s the biggest thing.”

The excitement was understandable for a program that hasn’t reached the WPIAL semifinals since winning the Class 4A title in 2012. This win advances Gateway (15-5) to face defending champion and No. 2 seed New Castle (22-1) on Monday at a site and time to be announced.

“We’re real hungry,” said Carr, who scored a team-high 15 points. “Our coach kept telling us, all we need to do is win. That’s what we did tonight.”

Taili Thompson added 14 points including four 3-pointers in the first half. The sophomore made three in the second quarter alone, shots that turned a 17-13 first-quarter deficit into a 34-27 halftime lead.

Thompson made two in a 30-second span as part of a 10-0 run just before half.

“Our coach tells us to just stay confident and keep shooting,” Carr said. “We take pride in that.”

Will Kromka had 11 points and Ryan Greggerson had 10. Both are seniors. Greggerson is 6-foot-7, Kromka is 6-3, and Gateway as a team caused problem for Mars with offensive boards and put-back baskets.

“We had (Gateway) for 18 second-chance points,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “You just can’t win. Outside of Chris (Dvorak), we’re not a really big team. It wasn’t even Greggerson and Kromka, their bigger guys. It was their guards getting rebounds and keeping possessions alive.”

Mars (21-3) was trying to reach the WPIAL semifinals for the seventh year in a row.

The Planets finished the first quarter with a four-point lead, but they didn’t shoot well in the first half, going 3 for 13 from beyond the arc.

Mars was ahead 25-21 with about five minutes left in the second quarter before Gateway grabbed the lead with a 10-0 run. A jumper by Carr, two 3s by Thompson and another basket by Carr gave the Gators a 31-25 lead they never lost.

Gateway led by 10 after three quarters. The lead peaked at 52-36 early in the fourth.

“All of a sudden at the end our guys kind of woke up and said, ‘We better get moving,’” Carmody said.

Mars outscored Gateway, 23-10, in a six-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. Tasso Sfanos was scoreless in the first three quarters before scoring 13 in the fourth.

Gateway’s lead was down to 64-61 when Schlegel made a driving layup with seven seconds left. He missed a free throw that would have cut the deficit to two.

Mars then fouled Carr, who’d missed two free throws with 18 seconds left. This time, with five seconds remaining, Carr made both.

“This means a lot to these guys,” Rogers said. “They want to get down to Pitt (for the WPIAL finals). That’s our goal, and we’re not going to let anything stand in our way.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway, Mars