It was a good run, but the Gateway Eagles unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of Community School of Naples by a score of 64-61. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Gateway came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 45th, while Community School of Naples is ranked 350th).
Gateway lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Tavian Cook, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 14 rebounds. Cook scored a full 36.1% of Gateway's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Andrew Leopold, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Gateway were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Gateway's defeat dropped their record down to 3-1. As for Community School of Naples, they pushed their record up to 4-2 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Gateway is on the road again on Thursday and play against Dunbar at 7:30 p.m. on December 14th. Dunbar comes in still looking for their first win of the season. As for Community School of Naples, they will head out on the road to face off against Neumann at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
