Colonials back in playoffs for 2nd straight season
Albert Gallatin punched its ticket to the playoffs for the second straight season in a 44-38 Section 1-AAAAA victory on Tuesday at Gateway.
The Colonials (4-6, 4-12) held a 12-7 lead after the first quarter, and after outscoring the Gators, 9-7, in the second, took a 21-14 advantage at halftime.
Gateway (3-8, 5-14) cut the deficit to six at 34-28 after a one-point edge in the third. Both scored 10 in the fourth. Albert Gallatin was 12 for 12 at the foul line in the second half and 17 of 23 overall.
“We just played really well defensively the whole game,” Albert Gallatin coach Shea Fleenor said. “We were leading at the end of every quarter and shot well at the foul line. We did what we needed to do and did a good job rebounding.”
The Colonials suffered back-to-back section losses to Laurel Highlands (2-9, 4-15) and Greensburg Salem (3-9, 8-12) but rebounded to defeat McKeesport (7-4, 10-9) before knocking off the Gators.
“The kid knew the situation going into the game and didn’t let the moment get too big for them,” Fleenor said. “Everybody that played gave us something positive, so kudos to them. When you are young and inexperienced, things are not always going to go your way, but we have done a good job of grinding and staying together as a team. It is about the team first.
“The Greensburg Salem game was the one that hurt me because I thought we did enough to win that game. I think LH just outplayed us and beat us. They earned that, but I thought we gave the Greensburg Salem game away. We also have been pretty bad on the road coming into tonight. We talked about that as a team. We had to overcome that. We didn’t shoot the ball tremendous, but we did what we needed to for the win.”
Albert Gallatin sophomore Nate English was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points. Gateway’s Hunter Hicks had 11.
The Colonials host the Mustangs on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before closing out section play on Saturday when they welcome first-place Penn Hills (10-0, 17-3) to town at 6:30 p.m.
“We still have some business to take care of,” Fleenor said. “We are working towards getting better. I still have a sour taste in my mouth about the playoff game last year because we had the chance to win and our point guard (English) went down.
“There have been tweets about us and Greensburg Salem didn’t belong in this section, so to win against McKeesport and to be in games with these teams is great. The kids on this team do a good job of understanding their roles and what they are there for. We still have to remind them because they are kids, and keep them grounded, but we are not going to allow anybody to roll over us without a fight. If you have that attitude, you might as well not being on this team. We have preached that since September.”