AURORA | The Gateway boys basketball team earned a split with rival Aurora Central with an explosive 72-64 home victory Tuesday night.
Just under three weeks after the Trojans won a 13-point game on the Olys’ home floor, Gateway got its payback with a wire-to-wire victory that evened its record at 9-9 on the season and earned put it a half game brought it into a virtual tie with Aurora Central top the Colorado League standings.
Coach Nicholas Dixon’s Olys (9-9, 4-1 in Colorado League) stretched their winning streak to five games behind a huge night for senior Hayden Von Boeckman, who went for a season-high 30 points, while senior Maximus Matthews added 14 and seniors Kaiemion Ashley and Knyle Serrell had nine apiece.
Coach Marcus Shelton’s Trojans (9-7, 5-1) had a four-game winning streak of their own snapped despite 20 points from senior Camron Crisp, 17 from senior Charles Laurendine II and 14 from senior Christopher Perkins, who scored 12 in the fourth quarter alone.
Gateway plays host to Thornton (10-7, 1-4) at 7 p.m. on Thursday on a night that is part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration. It will be the third meeting between the teams and will be the decider of the season series.
Aurora Central, meanwhile, also plays at 7 p.m. Thursday at Adams City (8-9, 4-2) and will got for a two-game sweep.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GATEWAY 72, AURORA CENTRAL 64
Score by quarters:
Gateway 24 16 17 15 — 72
Aur. Central 9 16 18 21 — 64
GATEWAY (72)
Kaiemion Ashley 3 0-0 9, Hayden Von Boeckman 12 3-4 30, Andre Romain 3 0-0 6, Knyle Serrell 4 1-2 9, Maximus Matthews 6 0-0 14, Nickalus Smith 2 0-2 4, T. Davis 0 0-0 0, Colt Wenzel 0 0-0 0, Karim Bellali 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 4-8 72.
AURORA CENTRAL (64)
Alex Flores 0 0-2 0, Charles Laurendine II 6 3-5 17, Christopher Perkins 7 0-3 14, Camron Crisp 7 2-2 20, Bishop Dankyi 2 0-2 5, Gabou Camara 3 0-3 6, Ka’Mari May 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 5-15 64.
3-point field goals: Gateway (8): Kaiemion Ashley 3, Hayden Von Boeckman 3, Maximus Matthews 2. Aurora Central (7): Camron Crisp 4, Charles Laurendine II 2, Bishop Dankyi. Total fouls — Gateway 21, Aurora Central 12. Fouled out — Gateway: Kaiemion Ashley. Aurora Central: Alex Flores.
