By DAVID RODISH NEWS RECORD SPORTS EDITOR

drodish@gillettenewsrecord.net

The return of Gillette College basketball brought a big home crowd and a big win as the Pronghorns move to 5-1 on the season with a 20-point win over Lake Region State College.

"They packed this thing," Eman Lawal said of the Pronghorn Center. "It's just good to see the community. Everybody is involved. Just can't wait to bring (Gillette) a championship."

The Pronghorns got to an early and fast lead. Lawal was key in Gillette's early run with a big put-back for the first bucket. Gillette attacked inside with free throws and Andrew Fuquay added a 3-pointer to give Gillette an early 11-2 lead.

Gillette native Jefferson Neary hit two threes in the first half that gave Gillette a double-digit lead.

Neary said that the team's rebounding and defense is what gave the team the big win. Gillette finished with 51 rebounds to Lake Region's 35. The Pronghorns also had six more steals than the Royals, with five of Gillette's 13 steals coming from Neary.

"Rebounding translates to wins, even if you're not shooting good," Neary said. "We didn't have a great shooting night — we weren't great from three and we weren't great from the free-throw line — but we rebounded and defended well, and that translates.

"If you rebound and play defense and hold teams to under 60 points, the way we play we're going to win a lot of games," he added.

The Royals started to fight back later in the first half, and made it a close game. But the Pronghorn offense continued to make timely shots to regain its momentum.

By the end of the first half, the Pronghorns led 36-20.

The Royals didn't struggle quite as much offensively in the second half, but the Pronghorn offense continued to shoot and score as a slightly higher rate than the Royals.

Lawal and Jaden Witter-Watts hit big shots and both had and-1 opportunities that killed any momentum that Lake Region had built. Lawal finished with 17 points with four rebounds and three assists, while Witter-Watts scored 11 points with three steals and five rebounds. Witter-Watts had a rough night shooting, going 3-14 but converted on five of seven free-throw attempts.

Fuquay was second on the team in points with 13. He was a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc, where the team overall shot 31%.

The second half finished with Gillette holding a 76-56 win over Lake Region, which included a 40-point second half.

"We just play as one," Lawal said. "That's what's going to help us get better, that camaraderie. Right when we get into the game, everybody is together."

The Pronghorns will be back at the Pronghorn Center on Saturday to play Utah Prep at 4 p.m.