Gaston College has to lean on its "Road Warrior" past as it approaches upcoming Region 10 road games

Gaston College's basketball team takes to the road in Region 10 action starting on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Denmark Tech. It starts a stretch of five road Region 10 games out of six Rhinos' games.

And it's a challenge Gaston College coach Jamie Rosser welcomes.

"We're going to be on the road for awhile," said Rosser, whose team has an 11-4 overall record after Wednesday's 86-70 home non-league win over Moravian Prep. "We've got to be ready to go. In some ways - from my experience - it's a pleasant surprise when you're on the road because you don't have the distractions of being at home. Sometimes when you go on the road, you really get focused."

If history is any indicator, the school has thrived in the "Road Warrior" mentality.

Gaston College has competed for league titles in five previous seasons - from the 1968-69 season to 1971-72 in the old North Carolina Community College Conference and last year in Region 10. Gaston College has finished as league regular season champion three times in those five seasons and were in third place in the other two seasons, including last year when the Rhinos finished one game out of first place in Region 10.

During those five seasons against league opposition, Gaston College has a 24-5 home record and 23-6 road record. Last season, the Rhinos had the best road record among all Region 10 teams at 5-2 - and that was actually two games better than their home mark of 3-4.

Entering the weekend, defending champion Caldwell Tech (4-0, 16-2) is the only Region 10 unbeaten and is followed in the standings by Brunswick Community College (3-1, 11-9), Richard Bland (2-2, 9-10), Gaston College (1-1, 11-4), Spartanburg Methodist (1-1, 13-6), Denmark Tech (1-3, 10-10) and Cape Fear Community College (0-4, 6-11).

Gaston College's success has come from extraordinary balance. All 14 players on the roster average 5.0 or more points per game, led by Tyree Bracey at 12.4 points per game.

The other scoring averages are Caleb McCarty (10.8), Asil Hoyle (10.2), DaMarco Watson (9.7), Jordan Guthrie (9.6), Dee Merriweather (8.9), Jamal Ukaegbu (8.6), Michael Smith (8.3), Joshua Johnson (7.6), Dedrick Givens (7.0), Chaundre Bratcher (7.0), Yarayah Evans (6.5), Kirk Scoggins (5.2) and Ajaden Gray (5.0).

Bracey (6.0), McCarty (5.9), Ukaegbu (5.9), Watson (5.6) and Gray (5.0) lead in rebounding and Watson (6.0), Hoyle (2.8), Bratcher (2.3) and Guthrie (2.2) lead in assists.

Following Saturday's game at Denmark Tech, Gaston College visits Spartanburg Methodist on Feb. 1, Caldwell Tech on Feb. 4 and Cape Fear Community College on Feb. 8 before returning home on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. against Denmark Tech.

"We know we're going to have our hands full but we're going to be ready to go," Rosser said.