On Friday, the Gateway Eagles narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Clearwater Tornadoes 54-51. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Eagles' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 328th, while the Tornadoes are ranked 114th).
Gateway's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was EJ Monteagudo, who posted 15 points and seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Andrew Leopold, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 13 points and six rebounds.
Gateway smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clearwater only pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Clearwater's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ari Tirado, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 12 points, and Keshawn Andrews, who went 8 of 13 on his way to 17 points. The contest was Andrews' fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kris Foote, who put up eight points.
Gateway's record now sits at 7-5. As for Clearwater, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-3.
Gateway didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 59-49 victory against Community School of Naples on the 4th. As for Clearwater, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 68-43 win against IMG Academy Gray on the 4th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
