Gaston College drops road contest at Pitt Community College

A month after rolling past Pitt Community College at home, Gaston College found the Bulldogs determined to protect their homecourt as well as avenge that defeat on Sunday afternoon in Winterville.

And Pitt Community College rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to rally past the Rhinos 63-59 in non-conference matchup.

Gaston College, which was playing without three starters, fell to 8-5 on the season. The Rhinos host Blue Lights College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Gaston Christian School in Lowell before taking a holiday break.

"Disappointed to say the least," said Gaston College coach David "Dickey" Nutt, whose team had beaten Pitt 97-68 on Nov. 14. "But we knew going in this was going to be a much different game than it was at North Gaston.
"Then you add three starters not playing and we knew we would have some challenges. Even with the guys we had that were healthy, we liked our chances."

The Rhinos took a 29-24 halftime lead as Dee Merriweather scored 11 of his team-high 18 points. But in the second half, the Bulldogs outscored Gaston College 39-30 as Avery Huggins and Kristopher Clark scored 11 points apiece to lead the home team; Huggins had a team-high 15 points and Clark 14 for Pitt Community College (3-5).

"Zavion Jackson was really good today rebounding and scoring for us but we couldn't get over the hump down the stretch," Nutt said. "Dee Merriweather shot the ball well for us in the first half.
"Our guys are learning just how difficult it is to be a student-athlete juggling finals as well as practice and games. It's not for the norm. It's a great learning lesson and a life-changing experience in a good way for them. We will get better."

Merriweather's 18 points led Gaston College with Jackson adding 14 and Nasyean Baisy 12.