Gaston College wins second straight game in impressive 38-point home victory

Gaston College's basketball team completed an early season two-game homestand with back-to-back impressive victories on Saturday afternoon in a 99-61 victory over the Pfeiffer University developmental team at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School.

The Rhinos improved to 2-1 in a game where they trailed for only 16 seconds.

First-year head coach Benny Moss still saw room for improvement as he knows the schedule will be toughening for his team in the coming weeks.

"Again, we didn't guard the way we needed to at the start of the game," Moss said. "We gave up nine points in the first four minutes and then there's three minutes left in the half and they've got 16 points. So we picked up the pace."

Gaston College trailed only at 5-4 and after Pfeiffer closed within 10-9 with 15:53 left in the opening half, the Rhinos went on a 29-7 surge for a 39-16 lead that effectively ended any doubt about the outcome.

Gaston College, which led 43-20 at halftime, took a 30-point lead with 11:34 to play, led by 40 points with 6:55 to play and twice led by as many as 43 points before it took the 38-point victory.

"We've got to get to where we don't worry about the scoreboard," Moss said. "So whether we're up or we're down, we've got to play one possession at a time, execute the offense and get the best shot we can and dig in on defense and rebound.
"We gave up way too many offensive rebounds (nine in the first half and 15 overall). So we've got to correct that."

The Rhinos again had a balanced, deep attack in the victory.

Sophomore guard Tyheim Love (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals), freshman forward Kayleb Coles (12 points, 6 rebounds), freshman forward Ryan Evans (12 points), sophomore guard Jordan Brown (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), freshman guard Spencer Breeden (10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), freshman guard J.R. Watson (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), sophomore guard Judah Ravenell (8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), freshman forward Jozohn Price (8 points, 3 rebounds), freshman guard E.J. Joyner (6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and freshman guard-forward Landon Sprouse (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) were Saturday's leaders.

Moss was pleased to see Brown continue to progress after missing some preseason drills and last Saturday's opener due to injury continue to get more comfortable on the court. Brown is the program's most highly-recruited player as 14 NCAA Division I schools have shown interest in him.

"I thought Jordan looked like himself a little bit more," Moss said. "He's still not where he needs to be. But that's why we have depth.
"All in all, it was a good team win."

Gaston College returns to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Central Carolina Community College and returns home next Saturday at 3 p.m. against Virginia Peninsula Community College at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School.