BASKETBALL: Trinity sweeps Gatewood to solidify strong region standing

Trinity faced off with Gatewood Friday in another region tilt at home. 

The Lady Crusaders avenged an earlier loss to the Lady Gators with a 57-47 win, while the boys completed the season sweep with an 80-63 victory.

The girls’ game in Eatonton last week was close throughout, and so was this one.

Trinity got off to a solid start and led 13-8 after one quarter, but then went ice cold in the second while Gatewood got red-hot.

The Lady Crusaders were outscored 17-4 in the period as the Gators took a 25-17 halftime lead.

Trinity outscored Gatewood 13-10 in the third but still trailed by five, 35-30, going to the fourth.

The game went back and forth for much of the final quarter with Gatewood taking a two-point lead, 45-43, on a pair of Lauren Paxson free throws with just under two minutes remaining.

From that point on, Trinity would dominate.  

Maddy George drilled a 3-pointer on the next Crusader possession to give them the lead for good. They would close the game on a 14-2 run over the final 1:45, and altogether outscore Gatewood 27-12 in the period, to pull away. 

Brinley Vinson led the way with 16, while George and Chloe Rozier added 14 each.

Paxson led Gatewood with 21.

When the Trinity boys and Gators met in Eatonton, the game was close, but neither team shot well the entire game.

That was not the case in this one as both squads came out on fire. Jagger George, who had another huge game, scored nine in the opening quarter to get the Crusader offense going.  Not to be outdone, Landon Moreno helped Gatewood keep pace with eight of his own and the score was knotted at 21 after one.

The Gators continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, draining four 3-pointers and scoring 17. Trinity kept it close with 16 of its own, but trailed 38-37 at the half. 

George got hot again out of the locker room, scoring 10 in the third quarter to match the Gators’ team total for the stanza. The Crusaders scored 19, and held a 56-48 lead going into the fourth.

The offensive show would continue for George as he added a dozen more in the final period. Trinity outscored Gatewood 24-15 over the final eight minutes to pull away. 

George had a career-best 37 and added five assists in the win. Will Foskey had a great all-around game with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Carter Lee also had his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

Bennett Haley led four Gators in double figures with 20. Moreno finished with 16, while Lake Ferman and Brady Haley had 10 each.

Trinity will be back home Tuesday night to continue region action against Windsor Academy, whose girls are a strong 16-5, and only a half-game behind the Lady Crusaders in the current region standings. The Crusader boys, in the same position, will need a win to remain by themselves in third place.