Gaston College season ends in Region 10 tournament

With Gaston College ending its regular season on a two-game winning streak and gaining even more momentum from a tiebreaker advance into the Region 10 postseason tournament, there appeared to be reason for optimism for the Rhinos.

After all, regular season champion and No. 22-ranked Caldwell Tech was entering the game on a rare two-game losing streak.

Unfortunately for Gaston College, the late season lull seemed to energize the Cobras who led wire-to-wire in a 96-66 Region 10 quarterfinal tournament victory at Catawba Valley Community College.

Region 10 player of the year Cincere Scott and fellow All-Region 10 selections Pharrell Boyougueno and Brandon Morgan had Caldwell Tech clicking on all cylinders - with Scott scoring a game-high 24 points - and the Cobras scored 17 of the game's first 19 points and built a 42-16 halftime lead before cruising to the victory.

"It was a tough one," said Gaston College interim head coach Jermaine Williams, whose game was watched by several four-year collegiate coaches. "The college coaches in attendance must've given the guys some stage fright because both teams technically were not fluid."

Gaston College's struggles were most evident on the offensive end as the Rhinos made 36.4 percent of its field goals attempts and 25.0 percent on 3-pointers while also committing 18 turnovers.

"I account for missed layups and opportunities at the rim," Williams said. "Again, we missed chances for points by not making layups, moving the ball, and having solid decisions every possession. And Caldwell came to play and we didn't meet them with force. They looked and played like a top 25 team."

Sophomores Yarayah Evans (23 points, 7 rebounds), Asil Hoyle (11 points, 4 assists), Michael Smith (7 points), Jamal Ukaegbu (2 points, 3 rebounds) and Ajaden Gray (2 points, 4 rebounds) were Rhinos' leaders in their final games with the program.

"I am thankful to the sophomores," Williams said. "It has been a wild year. I'm grateful they came, competed and looked to get better throughout the course of the season."

Evans ends his career as the only player to be a part of each of the program's three teams since restarting athletics in the fall of 2021.