Gaston College completes regular season sweep of Cleveland Community College

For the second straight time against nearby rival Cleveland Community College, the Gaston College Rhinos fell behind in the opening minutes.

Fortunately for the Rhinos, they again bounced back just as fast to take a another win, this time by an 82-69 margin on Thursday at the Yetis' new gymnasium in Shelby.

"It was eerily similar to the first game since they jumped out ahead really quickly," Gaston College interim head coach Jermaine Williams said. "It just seemed like we could never sustain anything to really take the lead and we gave up way too many points.
"But we battled and kept battling."

In an 85-74 season-opening win on Nov. 2 at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School, the Rhinos fell behind 9-2 in the first two minutes before eventually taking control later the first half and closing the game on a 29-17 surge.

On Thursday, the host Yetis roared ahead 8-2 in the first 2 1/2 minutes before Gaston College took double digit leads in each half and had answers for every rally Cleveland Community College could muster.

The Rhinos improved to 3-2 overall behind another balanced attack.

Kush Carter (16 points, 4 rebounds), Michael Smith (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals), Jalante Edwards (14 points, 4 rebounds), Ajaden Gray (7 points, 3 rebounds), Jaylon Craig (6 points), Jamal Ukaegbu (5 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) and Judah Ravenell (4 points, 4 rebounds) led the effort.

Carter had 12 of his 16 points in the second half despite battling foul trouble, Edwards converted an alley-oop dunk in the second half and Smith had a highlight-reel slam dunk late in the first half despite being defended by two Yetis' players.

"I knew coming off last weekend with the split that we needed to get to practice," Williams said. "We had a chance to scout and know a little bit about their tendencies after watching tape of the first time we played.
"That was a key talking point. And we got a win, but I know we've got a whole lot more to do to get to where we want to be."

Gaston College now has its longest break thus far of the season and the second-longest break of the season as it is idle until next weekend's Davidson-Davie Community College Thanksgiving Classic.

The Rhinos play Henry Ford College, Michigan, on Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m. and Montgomery College, Maryland, on Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. Henry Ford is currently ranked No. 7 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II poll.