Gaston College closes road trip with loss to Pensacola State

Less than 24 hours after losing to defending National Junior College Athletic Association champion Northwest Florida State, Gaston College looked to bounce back on Saturday afternoon against defeat Pensacola State College of Florida.

But after a strong first half, the Rhinos struggled in the second half before losing 73-68 to fall to 6-3 on the season.

The game, part of a two-day doubleheader at the Northwest Florida State gymnasium in Niceville, Florida, saw the Rhinos take a 37-25 first half lead behind sophomores Dee Merriweather and Caleb McCarty.

But in the second half, the Rhinos lost McCarty and sophomore Jordan Guthrie to disqualification due to fouls and the Pirates scored 48 points to come from behind for the victory.

Merriweather (19 points), Guthrie (14 points) and McCarty (13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocked shots) led Gaston College.

"Sometimes the experience is better than anything else you can have," Rhinos coach Jamie Rosser said. "If you don't have these experiences, then you don't know what it takes to be at another level.
"We just played two games and had a winnable game against Pensacola today. But turnovers, free throws, lack of discipline... those are things we've got to zero in on and figure out how we can improve."

The Rhinos return to action once more before the Christmas break next Saturday when they host Moravian Prep at 8 p.m. at the Ashbrook High gymnasium.

Gaston College won't play again after next Saturday until next year when they host Gaddis Watts Prep Academy of Charlotte on January 8 at 3 p.m. at Ashbrook.