Gaston College ends holiday break with high-scoring victory

Gaston College shook off a seven-day break with a 122-77 win over Blue Lights College on Sunday afternoon at North Gaston High School.

Zavion Jackson, the Rhinos' 6-foot-7 sophomore center, led a balanced attack with 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots in a game Gaston College never trailed while snapping a two-game losing streak to improve its record to 7-2 in its first season in 50 years.

Dee Merriweather (21 points, 5 steals), Damon Davis (15 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Jaylen Bates (14 points, 10 rebounds), Jared Funderburk (14 points, 5 steals), Da'marco Watson (13 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and Lenz Dupont (9 points) were other key contributors as the Rhinos played for the first time since Nov. 20.

"We were sluggish after being off for Thanksgiving break," Gaston College coach David "Dickey" Nutt said. "Our emphasis was getting it inside and not just taking the first available shot. We came out and played pretty hard and shot the ball fairly well. The defense wasn't too good tonight. But we did what we were supposed to do and I was proud of that."

The 122-point effort was the school's second 100-point game of the season and the most scored by Gaston College since it defeated Isothermal Community College 124-84 on Jan. 24, 1972 in an old N.C. Community College Conference game.

"I was really pleased with the way they shared the ball with 27 assists," Nutt said. "It showed that we really played unselfishly."

Defensively on Sunday, the Rhinos forced Blue Light College (2-8) into 23 turnovers and 41.3 percent shooting (31 of 75).

Gaston College plays again on Thursday at Combine Academy in Lincolnton before opening Region 10 play on Saturday at Cape Fear Community College.