WESTHAMPTON - The Gateway Regional boys basketball team has been an afterthought in the Bi-County League.

The team has been in the lower half of the standings since its last tournament appearance in 2003. Only last season did the 8-12 Gators even have a chance at qualifying.

But Gateway put the league on notice Tuesday with a 48-43 victory over Hampshire Regional.

"This is showing everyone that we're a good team," Gateway senior Austin Cook said. "You should be afraid to play us."

It was the Gators' first win of the season, but it came in a place where they haven't had much success. It was Gateway's first win at Hampshire since Jan. 3, 2000. The Raiders lead the all-time series with their Route 66 rival 54-29.

"This is a tough place to play and (Hampshire coach) Claud (Salomao) runs a great program," Gateway coach Mike O'Connell said. "I'm an elementary PE teacher in the Hampshire district so all these kids that he's coaching now are kids I had in fifth and sixth grade. They're great kids and they work hard. It's always going to be a fun game when the Raiders meet the Gators."

Keeping the tempo fast and aggressive, Gateway (1-2) jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter. Sophomore Calvin Dowers had six points during the run, while his twin brother Curtis had five points.

"Everyone is fast and everyone is quick," O'Connell said. "We have to make it a little ugly at times and sometimes it pays off and you get a win like tonight."

Hampshire (1-2) leaned on Keith Cotnoir and pulled within 17-16 midway through the second. Cotnoir had six points during a 12-0 run, but the Gators held the slim edge through halftime.

"We got going at a certain pace and we weren't able to take our time and let our offense take hold," Salomao said. "Everything was a quick shot off one pass, two passes. We weren't patient enough at all. It was a game that we didn't play like ourselves. It wasn't typical Hampshire basketball."

The Raiders took control at the start of the third. A three-point play by Cotnoir (18 points) capped a 6-0 run that gave Hampshire a 31-27 lead, its first since 2-0, with 4 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third.

But the Gators never went away as the teams traded the lead four more times throughout the third. Trailing 37-36, Austin Cook (13 points) scored on a baseline jump hook on Gateway's first possession of the fourth to give the Gators the lead it never relinquished.

"It's a learning process," O'Connell said. "We didn't take care of the ball very well at the end, we tried to hand it back to them and we took some bad shots, but we were able to hold on."

Curtis Dowers (14 points) went 4-for-5 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

Hampshire struggled from the line. The Raiders shot 8-for-23, including 4-for-13 in the fourth quarter.

"It's not good," Salomao said. "When you're rushing and you're not focusing on what you should be doing, you tend to be out of position. We were doing that on both ends of the court."

Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com.