PHOTO PROVIDED Loyalsock’s Nate Bauman and Gage Patterson both reached 1,000 career points this past weekend, joining Jaylen Andrews.

They have competed together pretty much since they first started playing basketball. They share similar playing styles and think the same way.

No, Nate Bauman and Gage Patterson are not brothers. But they sure share a close basketball connection. And now they share a piece of Loyalsock history as well.

The Loyalsock seniors both joined the 1,000-point club last Saturday, doing so in a two-minute second-half span while helping the Lancers defeat Mid-Valley, 77-57, in the Class AAA state tournament’s first round. It was the latest achievement for two players who have helped Loyalsock continue flourishing throughout their scholastic careers.

“I truly consider Nate a brother of mine,” Patterson said. “All my teammates are brothers, but he and I have a special bond. To achieve it together after a long career together is really a great thing.”

“It’s special because of how long we have been playing together,” Bauman said. “We don’t have to force shots because we know the guys around us will give us the opportunity to score.”

And vice-versa. Like Jaylen Andrews, who also scored his 1,000th point earlier this season, Bauman and Patterson reached 1,000 points while always playing the team game well. They have been effective scorers and distributors, putting team goals before personal ones.

Sure, both entered high school, like many, hoping to score 1,000 points, but they have been more focused on putting their team in the best position to win. Doing so has helped Loyalsock (27-1) win a lot during their three seasons starting.

Loyalsock has won two district championships and three league titles during that time. The Lancers will be trying to take another step tonight when they play District 11 champion Notre Dame-Green Pond in the state tournament’s second round, seeking their first Elite 8 appearance since 2021.

“Every year they’ve grown and each year they have increased their work habits, so that it’s been a process over the last three years,” Loyalsock coach Ron Insinger said. “You can just see the maturity and the high energy. They go hard to put themselves in the situations they have put themselves in. They set some lofty goals and they worked hard to achieve them. It’s really a blessing.”

Bauman and Patterson both were named HAC-III first team-all stars, as was Andrews. They have produced their best seasons in their final year together. Bauman is one of the area’s assist leaders and also an excellent defender who averages 14.1 points per game. Patterson also excels on defense, while averaging 15.3 points and seeing the court well.

Bauman’s and Patterson’s fathers coached both when they were younger, so it has become an extended bond. Brothers often know what or how the other is thinking without the other speaking. In a basketball sense, Bauman and Patterson have become brothers because they seemingly share the same mind.

That helps not just those two, but the entire team. Winning league, conference and district championships, in addition to reaching the state’s Sweet 16 again, drives home that point.

“We have helped each other in countless ways, making each other better and better,” Bauman said. “No one has made my game sharper than Gage and how he plays basketball.”

Patterson shares those sentiments. They have played so many games together that the two guards essentially can see the game unfold as one.

“We know exactly where we are on the court and what we are doing,” Patterson said. “As a team that’s extremely important in the backcourt, knowing exactly where he’s going to be, what move he’s going to do, where he wants it. It makes it easier to win basketball games.”

Loyalsock has won 67 games since Bauman and Patterson became starters. They were JV players in 2021 when Loyalsock captured the state championship and helped keep the program moving forward despite four starters graduating a year later. The Lancers repeated as district champions, went 24-6 and won another state tournament game.

Loyalsock returned to the state’s Sweet 16 last year, but did not win a district championship for the first time since 2018. That left a bad taste in the entire team’s collective mouth. Patterson and Bauman were two of the team’s leaders who pushed the team to rebound this season, often filling up the stat sheet along the way.

They have continued to bring out each other’s best along the way, too.

“We’ve been playing since second grade, pushing each other at practice. We’ve found ways to improve each other’s games,” Patterson said. “We play 1-on1 all the time and he’s one of the people who can shut me down because we know each other so well. It’s been great having him as a teammate.”

Above the milestones and numbers, what Insinger likes most about how Bauman and Patterson is how they have approached their goals. He feels the same way about Andrews–and all his players on this driven team. That has made this season especially rewarding thus far.

“We talked back in November about the possibility of having three players going for 1,000 points. I had some concerns because I thought the chemistry might break down at some point, but that didn’t happen,” Insinger said. “They all did it the right way.”

Loyalsock will try to continue doing so tonight against Notre Dame-Green Pond. Knowing their names will be on the 1,000-point scoring banner is nice, but Bauman and Patterson enjoy winning more. This is a senior-laden team, one which has been close over the years.

They know these are the moments to cherish.

“We prepare well and move the ball around,” Patterson said. “We just want to play basketball and have a great time.”

Reaching 1,000 points together will keep Bauman and Patterson bonded upon that scoring banner. But the bond they have formed as teammates and friends likely will continue being even stronger.