Gaston College basketball improves to 5-0 on the season

Gaston College improved to 5-0 on the season in a 99-77 win over Guilford Tech at Jamestown's Mary Perry Ragsdale YMCA gymnasium.

After the Rhinos fell behind 17-13 with 10:31 left in the first half, they closed on a 38-22 surge to take a 51-39 lead at the break.

E.J. Joyner (22 points, 8 assists), Kaleb Siler (21 points, 7 rebounds), Ryan Evans (13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals), DeAngelo Canty (13 points, 4 rebounds), J.R. Watson (7 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals) and Kush Carter (6 points, 6 rebounds) led a balanced Gaston College attack.

"E.J. really did a good of pushing the ball and putting pressure on their defense," Gaston College coach Benny Moss said. "And they had no answer for Kaleb inside. Also, Ryan made some plays for us by rebounding and attacking the basket. And DeLo (Canty) gave us good production and played some meaningful minutes in the post when Kaleb picked up two fouls in the first half.

Gaston College had its lowest long-range output of the year (six of 29 on 3-pointers) but made it up for it by hitting 32 of 43 (74.4 percent) of its 2-point shots.

"We didn't shoot great from 3 but we rebounded well and drove to the basket to create scoring opportunities," Moss said.

The Rhinos next play at home at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School on Saturday at 2 p.m. against nearby rival Cleveland Community College.