Gateway is 3-0 against Estero since December of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Gateway Eagles are on the road again and plays the Estero Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on February 15th. Gateway has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 271 points over their last four matchups.
Gateway had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They came out on top against Estero by a score of 61-49 on Saturday. Given Gateway's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 109th, while Estero is ranked 394th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tavian Cook was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 21 points and 14 rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more points the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Leopold, who scored nine points.
Gateway has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-3 record this season. As for Estero, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-13.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Gateway hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 69.8 points per game. However, it's not like Estero struggles in that department as they've been averaging 60.3 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Gateway was able to grind out a solid victory over Estero when the teams last played on Saturday, winning 61-49. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Estero's Brady Knutson, who almost dropped a double-double on 26 points and nine rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Gateway still be able to contain Knutson? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
