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Gateway gets much-needed win, surviving against Kiski Area in overtime

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Thursday, February 1, 2024 | 10:14 PM

Alvis Rogers slid the final bite of a pretzel into his mouth and looked around the visitor’s locker room. Satisfied that everything was in order, the Gateway boys basketball coach, happy to get out of Kiski Area with a victory Thursday night, followed the last of his players into the hallway leading to an exit.

“It’s a cold night in Kiski,” Rogers said, pausing to put on a coat and get a handle on his belongings. “We couldn’t make shots. We’ve always had a rough go of it up here. Always.”

Indeed, the struggling Gators were shivering all night.

“Both teams were cold,” he said. “No one could put the ball in the basket tonight.”

Alex Lowry converted 1 of 2 free throws to break a tie in overtime, and Gateway first survived Alec Dunsmore’s two misses from the stripe with 7 seconds left, then thwarted a pair of last-second shot attempts by Kiski Area at the other end to come away with a 37-36 victory and secure a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs with the regular season winding down.

No. 2 Gateway still can win the Section 3 championship after the Gators (13-5, 6-2) crept within a half-game of first-place Franklin Regional.

The third-ranked Panthers (16-2, 6-1) play at Latrobe on Friday night.

“We needed that. We’ve been struggling,” Rogers said of Gateway’s successful grind-it-out performance.

Losers of two games in a row and four of the past five, the Gators desperately needed a victory, not only to clinch a playoff spot but to right a ship that had sailed off course in recent times.

After Gateway went on a 10-game winning streak earlier in the year, the Gators stumbled out of first place in the section, losing four times during a five-game stretch to Latrobe, Penn Hills, Class 2A No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic and Penn-Trafford.

“It hurt our confidence,” Rogers said. “I always tell our guys that you’ve got to stay engaged. You can’t think that just because you won 10 in a row that everyone is going to come in and lay down. That’s when it gets tough, because they want to beat that team on top. I tell them winning isn’t easy. It’s a hard road to get there, and once you get there, it’s even harder to stay on top. I just tell them we’ve got to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations.”

Gateway’s latest encounter likely was as uncomfortable as it could get.

But while the Gators were grappling to not lose yet again, Kiski Area (12-7, 3-5) continued to fight for its playoff lives. The Cavaliers remained in the running for a playoff spot, despite their latest defeat.

They have two regular-season games remaining — Tuesday at McKeesport and Feb. 9 against Penn-Trafford — and coach Corey Smith could only hope to get help from others in the section.

Smith, the former Kiski Area standout in his third season as coach of his alma mater, remained with his team in the locker room long after the conclusion of Thursday night’s game.

Gateway survived a cold-shooting night in a battle that saw 14 leads changes and was tied eight times. The biggest advantages went to Kiski Area (12-7, 3-5) twice by four points each time, but the Cavs failed to build on them.

It just couldn’t have gotten much closer than this.

“I challenged them,” Rogers said, referring to his players. “I said, ‘Do you want to win it? If you want to win it, let’s go and get it.’ They responded. It was ugly, but I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.”

No one scored in double figures for Gateway. Dunsmore led the way for the Gators with eight points. Kiski Area’s Isaiah Gonzalez topped all players with 11.

“To their credit, they played the zone, which we knew they would, and we worked on it,” Rogers said. “We couldn’t make shots. We were just trying to get it in to our big guy, Alec Dunsmore. We got baskets on inbounds plays. That really helped. When you can get 2, 4, 6 of those, that’s pretty much the difference right there.”

After Carson Heinle sank 1 of 2 free throws for Kiski Area to tie the score in overtime at 36-36, Lowry made 1 of 2 from the line to give Gateway its winning margin that stood until the final overtime buzzer.

Earlier, Kiski Area’s Noah Timmons sent the game into overtime, converting 1 of 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 34-34.

The Cavaliers had a chance to win in OT, but Gonzalez lost the handle near the foul line and put up a wild shot with time winding down. The ball glanced off the rim and into the hands of Heinle, whose furious, last-ditch attempt was blocked by Lowry as time expired, prompting Rogers to clench his fists in triumph and Smith to raise up his arms and hold out his hands in disgust.

After Franklin Regional meets Latrobe on Friday, the Panthers will visit Gateway on Tuesday, looking to avenge a 58-48 home loss to the Gators on Jan. 12. Gateway then closes out its section schedule on Jan. 9 at Latrobe before finishing the regular season with a nonsection game at Butler on Feb. 12.

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