1st-place Gateway boys hang on to quell Penn-Trafford’s comeback attempt

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 10:41 PM

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A sign on the wall at Penn-Trafford read, “Warning,” in white, capital letters with a green background.

Maybe it was meant for Gateway.

Warned or not, the visiting Gators were ready for a frenzied comeback by the host Warriors.

Gateway weathered a big shift in momentum and a 22-point third quarter by Penn-Trafford to register a 63-51 victory and a two-game sweep of the Warriors on Tuesday night in Section 1-5A.

The Gators (14-6, 12-1), who had already secured the section title, built an 18-point lead late in the first half, only to see the Warriors (10-10, 8-5) cut it to three late in the third.

But Gateway didn’t relent to noise from a raucous crowd and the pep band pounding in its ears.

“You have to keep playing,” Gateway coach Vern Benson said. “We let our guard down, and you can’t do that against a well-coached team. They aren’t going to just lay down.”

Penn-Trafford, which couldn’t match the high energy it found on the offensive end to the defensive end, saw a five-game winning streak halted in what has been an up-and-down year.

Both teams are in the WPIAL playoffs.

“Gateway is a good team,” Penn-Trafford coach Doug Kelly said. “They are an elite defensive team when they are locked in. They were locked in tonight.

“We’re not a team that’s just going to roll out. Were grinders, but we needed to play better early on.”

Gateway rode a scorching start to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter, making seven of its first 10 shots.

Senior Jax Vovaris scored eight of his 17 points in the first for the Gators, who stretched the advantage to 29-11 after senior Mykel Bruce-McCrommon drove the lane and scored, and Vovaris made two free throws.

“Jax is our vocal leader, and (Bruce-McCrommon) is our quiet leader,” Benson said.

Bruce-McCrommon, who recently reached the 1,000-point mark for his career, finished with a game-high 24 points. He had 15 in the second half.

Warriors senior Anthony Stagno, who had a career game with 13 points, scored five straight to close the first half and narrow the gap to 29-16.

The rally kicked in halfway through the third with the Warriors down 37-20 after a floater by Vovaris.

Senior forward Ethan McDonald had 11 of the Warriors’ 22 in the third. He made back-to-back shots and, after a basket by Gateway senior Isaiah Allah, finished off a three-point play to make it 39-27 with 3 minutes, 19 seconds left in the quarter.

After a technical foul on Gateway junior Martin Howard, the Warriors scored nine straight points, including a putback by junior Nick Ponko and a 3 from sophomore Caleb Dubyak to get the Warriors within 39-36.

Bruce-McCrommon hit a long two from the top of the key to end the third with Gateway up 43-38.

Penn-Trafford senior Zach Feldman completed a four-point play early in the fourth after he was fouled on a corner 3-pointer to cut the deficit 48-43.

McDonald and Feldman each scored 15 in the loss.

But Gateway went on an 11-0 run to stretch the margin back to 59-43. Bruce-McCrommon’s three-point play with 2:04 to go made it a 14-point game.

“We have to defend better,” Benson said. “Guys are going away from what we want them to do. We relaxed a little bit tonight instead of putting our foot on the gas.”

Stagno hit two more 3s, but the Warriors could only get within 12 the rest of the way.

“We didn’t get stops,” Kelly said. “Stagno gave us a big lift. He plays with tremendous confidence. I believe in our guys. We’ll look at the film. It was just that start that hurt us.

“Gateway plays fluidly and finds the extra guy and makes the extra pass. They put the finishing touches on a section championship.”

Allah finished with 10 points for the Gators, who have won eight of nine.

“Allah is a silent assassin,” Benson said. “He is always around the ball. He doesn’t get a lot of credit.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway, Penn-Trafford