|  03/01/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
JUNCTION - Mounds Meridian senior
guard Roderic Gatewood, Jr. has made some big shots in his four
year career but none were bigger than the one he hit in the
final seconds of his team's sectional semifinal win over Wayne
City on Wednesday night.
He
is the all-time leading scorer in the program's history and
his 25-foot shot from right in front of his team's bench while
being triple teamed added to his legacy.
The
shot, with his team trailing by two, beat the buzzer and sent
his club into its first sectional championship game since 2015
with a 67-66 win in front of a both excited and stunned crowd
at the 1A Gallatin County Sectional.
Gatewood,
Jr., who came into the game averaging 28.6 points a game, finished
with 31 points as the Bobcats improved to 23-12 on the season.
“Yes,
sir. Definitely. Biggest shot, best shot, however you want to
explain it. It was incredible,” said Gatewood, Jr. when
asked where his game-winner ranks in his career. “This
has to be number one. To stay alive and play for a sectional
championship is really in my dreams I would definitely say this
is number one.”
The
excited part of the crowd were the Bobcat fans who cheered while
their team spilled onto the floor celebrating with Gatewood.
The
stunned fans were the ones from Wayne City, whose dreams of
advancing to the sectional championship for the first time since
1975 were dashed in an instant.
Or
in this case the final :07.1
Leading
by two, the Indians appeared headed for the win.
Coach
Jake Talbert had his best player Justin Durham at the foul line
but the senior, who tied Gatewood, Jr. for scoring honors with
31 points, missed a pair of free throws which allowed Meridian
a chance to tie or win the game with a final possession.
Gatewood,
Jr. took care of the rest and ended the fine season for Wayne
City at 26-8.
“What
can you say? It happens. Unfortunately it happened to us. We
draped three of our best defenders on him and it goes in,”
said Coach Talbert.
Gatewood's
3-pointer was his third of the fourth quarter as the Bobcats
rallied from down five points down (63-58) with 1:15 left.
All
three came in the succession as he scored his team's final nine
points.
His
second made three, with :14 left got Meridian to within 65-64.
The
Bobcats sent Jonny Durham, a 5-11 senior and Justin's brother,
to the foul line with :11.9 left.
Durham
made the first free throw (his 11th point of the game) but his
second one misfired.
His
brother Justin grabbed the rebound and dribbled out of the lane
where he was fouled with :08.0 left.
Justin
Durham then rimmed out the two free throws (super bonus) and
Meridian got a timeout to set up the Gatewood, Jr. last second
heroics.
“He
will probably beat himself up over this but in a couple of weeks
he will realize what we accomplished this season,” said
Coach Talbert about Justin Durham.
Besides
the Durham's 31 Wayne City got 15 points from 6-5 senior Grayson
Habermaas, seven points from senior Grant Lewis and two points
from senior Chase Smith.
All
of these kids will be missed as the program moves forward.
“I
think all of our seniors left it out there on the court, especially
Justin. I think he is in the top two players in southern Illinois
and he played his tail off tonight,” said Coach Talbert.
“Our guys played hard tonight and I'm proud of them. All
of our seniors have been program changers, especially Justin.
All of the kids in the community look up to him. It sets us
up for success in the years to come.”
Gatewood,
Jr. was the only Bobcat in double-digits in scoring but Coach
Davis got eight first half points from 6-4 senior Josh Everage
and seven points apiece from senior Tristen Mackins, junior
Cole Kaufman and freshman Javionne Ransom.
Sophomore
Shamar Easley scored five points for Meridian, with a conventional
three-point play in the opening minutes along with two points
from reserve Paul Bone as Meridian led 16-15 at the end of the
first quarter. |
Meridian's
largest lead of the game came off of an 8-1 run in the second
quarter.