Gaston College wins 11th straight to cap an emotional week for head coach

Gaston College's basketball team won its 11th straight game on Sunday afternoon with a come-from-behind 93-85 victory over Cleveland Community College at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School.

The Rhinos (11-1) never lead in the first half, trailed by as many as 10 points and were behind 45-40 at the break.

Gaston College took its first lead two minutes into the second half and closed the nip-and-tuck contest on a 12-3 surge after Cleveland Community College went ahead 82-81 with 2:49 to play.

"In the second half, we did a better job of keeping them in front of us and making them earn their points," first-year Rhinos head coach Benny Moss said. "We've just got to continue to focus on one possession at a time, one game at a time and worry about the process. If we can continue to do that, the results will follow."

Freshman E.J. Joyner (20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals), freshman Jozohn Price (17 points, 7 rebounds), sophomore Tyheim Love (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), sophomore Jordan Brown (14 points, 4 rebounds), sophomore Judah Ravenell (12 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Kayleb Coles (9 points, 6 rebounds) led a balanced Gaston College attack.

"That's the key for this group," Benny Moss said of his team's balance. "We've got about 12 guys that deserve to play. As long as they can continue to be unselfish and worry about the results instead of their own individual accolades, great things can happen for this team.
"I thought E.J. was really good today. We put the ball in his hands and he got it into the paint and scored and also found guys for open looks."

Sunday's game capped an emotion-filled week for the Rhinos' head coach as his father Donald Moss, Sr., died on Tuesday in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was receiving medical attention at the Mayo Clinic. Donald Moss, Sr., was 77 years old and his visitation and funeral services were held on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in his hometown of Pilot Mountain.

"It was a very emotional week," said Benny Moss, who went to Florida on Monday, returned to Gaston College practice sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before going to Pilot Mountain for the weekend ceremonies in his father's honor. "I want to thank my players as well as my staff for handling things when I wasn't quite there mentally.
"So this game meant a little more. And we found a way to pull it out. What a great job my players and my coaches did of focusing on what needed to be done while I was gone."

The Rhinos will close out their first semester schedule with a Wednesday game at 6 p.m. at Virginia Peninsula Community College.