Gaston College celebrates "Sophomore Day" with home victory on Saturday

Gaston College honored seven program pioneers at Ashbrook High School before Saturday's game, then the Rhinos used those pioneers - and everyone else on their roster - to roll to a 104-75 victory over Hosanna College.

"It was 'Sophomore Night' and we wanted to give everybody the opportunity to play, especially those guys like Kirk Scoggins, Dee Merriweather, DaMarco Watson, Joshua Johnson and Dedrick Givens who have been with us for two years," Gaston College coach Jamie Rosser said, "They're strong teammates who have helped restart this program from the ground up - for the first time in 50 years at Gaston, these guys have spent two years playing together!"

Coach Rosser also thanked the parents, families, and fans for their support of these student-athletes.

Scoggins, Merriweather, Watson, Johnson, Givens, Jordan Guthrie and Caleb McCarty were honored in pregame ceremonies that included all coaches and many of the respective players' family and friends.

In the game, the Rhinos scored 24 of the game's first 34 points and led by nine or more points the rest of the way.

Merriweather (19 points, 5 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Asil Hoyle (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Johnson (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Chaundre Bratcher (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Jamal Ukaegbu (12 points, 3 rebounds), Guthrie (8 points, 3 rebounds), Watson (6 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists), Ajaden Gray (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Scoggins (4 points, 2 rebounds), Yarayah Evans (4 points, 2 rebounds), Tyree Bracey (2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) and Michael Smith (2 points, 3 rebounds) led a balanced attack in which all 12 Gaston College players who participated scored in the game. (Givens and McCarty didn't play due to injuries.)

"We did what we were supposed to do, which was to win the game," Rosser said. "But I really liked the effort out of our reserves tonight. The guys came off the bench and really played hard and took the game seriously. I was really, really pleased with that."

The Rhinos improved to 16-6 overall entering a game on Monday at the No. 1 ranked National Junior College Athletic Association Division II team Davidson-Davie Community College. "It will be an excellent opportunity for us to face a good team and to prepare us for more conference play," said Rosser, "We have to be mentally and physically prepared because we know we will be playing a really good team."

The Rhinos' next home game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Division I Region 10 opponent Spartanburg Methodist.