Gaston College improves to 17-2 with second half rally in Region 10 home opener

A determined Gaston College effort in the second half on Wednesday night lifted the Rhinos to a 72-62 win over Caldwell Tech at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School gymnasium.

The win improved Gaston College to 17-2 overall and 2-1 in Region 10 action.

The Rhinos overcame an 11-point first half deficit with a strong second half against the last unbeaten league team.

"I'm very happy with the second half," said Gaston College coach Benny Moss, whose team outscored the visitors 44-28 after halftime. "In the first half, we did a poor job of taking care of the basketball. But we got a good inside-out game, which made good things happen and we also competed a lot better on defense by getting stops and rebounding better."

Sophomores Kaleb Siler (24 points, 14 rebounds), E.J. Joyner (15 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists) and J.R. Watson (11 points, 6 assists) led the Rhinos, who built as much as a 13-point second half lead against the Cobras (16-3, 3-1).

Despite another a tough shooting night from long range - four of 25 on 3-pointers - Gaston College played with a determination offensively that saw them convert 45.6 percent of their shots overall.

"I told the team that if they shoot it with confidence and take good shots, they're eventually going to go in," Moss said.

After yielding a free throw on the opening second half possession, the Rhinos scored the game's next 13 points to take the lead for good at 41-35 with 14:59 left in the contest.

The lead was a game-high 63-50 with 5:51 to play.

The projected winter weather forecast has altered the team's schedule as Gaston College will visit perennial league power Cape Fear Community College (8-5, 2-2) in Wilmington on Friday at 3 p.m. instead of Saturday at the same time.

"We've got to find a way to win on the road," Moss said of the matchup against the Sea Devils, which mark the Rhinos three road game out of its first four Region 10 contests. "We can really set ourselves up with another road win."

After Friday's game, Gaston College returns home next Wednesday against USC Salkehatchie at 8 p.m. at the Ashbrook gymnasium.