Gateway stuns Laurel Highlands, earns 1st appearance in state basketball semifinals
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Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 10:51 PM
Gateway’s Jaydon Carr tracks down an inbounds pass away from Laurel Highlands’ Tahji Hooper during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s Ryan Greggerson scores past Laurel Highlands’ Nico Johns during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher reacts after losing to Gateway in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s William Kromka (23) and Ryan Greggerson defend on Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher sadly walks off the court after losing to Gateway during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Laurel Highlands head coach Rick Haugerl urges on his team after they go down by three with seconds left against Gateway during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s Michael Crawford scores past Laurel Highlands’ Jayden Pratt during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Laurel Highlands players on the court after losing to Gateway in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s William Kromka scores over Laurel Highlands’ Brandon Davis during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s William Kromka celebrates Ryan Greggerson’s dunk against Laurel Highlands during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s Ryan Greggerson dunks against Laurel Highlands during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Gateway’s Jaydon Carr steals a pass intended for Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
Laurel Highlands players with their heads down after Gateway goes up three with seconds left during the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday at Robert Morris.
There will be a WPIAL rematch in the state semifinals, but Laurel Highlands won’t be there.
The previously undefeated WPIAL champions were stunned Tuesday night by a determined Gateway team that dominated on the glass, piled up second-chance points and celebrated a 55-52 victory in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center.
Gateway’s Ryan Greggerson tipped in the go-ahead basket with 36 seconds left, and Will Kromka added two free throws with 12.9 remaining. In between, the 6-foot-7 Greggerson grabbed an offensive board after a missed free throw as Gateway out-rebounded Laurel Highlands by 14.
The win earns Gateway (18-6) a rematch with New Castle (26-2) in a PIAA semifinal Friday at a site and time to be determined. This is Gateway’s first appearance in the PIAA’s final four.
“We’re going someplace that we haven’t been before throughout the history of Gateway,” coach Alvis Rogers said. “We’re excited about it. We’re going to accept the challenge.”
Here’s a look at the go-ahead tip-in by Gateway’s Ryan Greggerson with 36 seconds left to lead 53-52 #PIAA pic.twitter.com/oHhnJG9D7h
— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) March 16, 2022
New Castle and Gateway also met in the WPIAL semifinals Feb. 28, and the Red Hurricanes won by 10. But this isn’t the rematch most predicted for Friday.
Many anticipated a WPIAL championship rematch between New Castle and Laurel Highlands (27-1), but Gateway won’t apologize for crashing their party.
“This is one of the biggest wins in our school’s history,” Kromka said. “Nobody’s made it this far. I’m not going to say I’m shocked we won, because I always believed in us. We kind of shocked everyone else.”
Laurel Highland junior Rodney Gallagher scored a game-high 24 points, but the Mustangs star was held to six in the second half.
Greggerson and Jaydon Carr led Gateway with 12 points each.
The Gators ended the third quarter leading 45-42 after a Greggerson dunk in the final seconds.
The lead then changed hands six times in the fourth.
Gateway’s lead reached five points early in the quarter before Laurel Highlands rallied back. The Mustangs scored six consecutive points including a breakaway layup by Brandon Davis to lead 48-47 with under six minutes left.
Davis finished with 12 points.
Gateway pulled ahead 49-48 with an offensive rebound and put-back basket by Michael Stevenson with five minutes left, and led 51-50 after a basket by Kromka about three minutes later. Laurel Highlands led 50-49 on a layup by Jayden Pratt and 52-51 after Gallagher made two free throws with 75 seconds left.
Greggerson provided the final lead change with his tip-in for Gateway at the 36-second mark to lead 53-52. His offensive rebound about 20 seconds later was just as important. Carr missed the front end of a one-and-one, Greggerson grabbed the rebound and passed to Kromka, who was fouled.
Gateway led 55-52 after Kromka made two free throws.
“We came in with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder knowing that nobody outside really believed in us,” Kromka said. “We wanted to show it. We kind of learned throughout the season to focus on the little things in the game and that includes rebounding.”
Six of Gateway’s final eight points came after an offensive rebound.
“We saw that coming in,” Rogers said. “We saw we could beat them on the glass.”
Laurel Highlands had two tries at a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds, including a hurried buzzer-beater by Keondre Deshields that bounced off the rim. The Gators’ defense successfully kept the ball out of Gallagher’s hands on Laurel Highlands’ final two possessions.
Gallagher went 6 for 11 from the field in the first half, scoring 11 points in the first quarter alone. But Gateway clogged the lane better after halftime, when Gallagher went 1 for 5 shooting.
“We wanted him to see bodies, feel bodies, and that’s what we did,” Rogers said. “What I know is, by doing that, it takes his legs away in the fourth. That’s what we try to do, take the legs away, and then we can go push.”
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, Laurel Highlands
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