Gaston College uses strong second half to take Region 10 victory

Gaston College's basketball team shook off some first half struggles to take charge in the second half of an 81-71 victory over Denmark Tech on Sunday afternoon at the North Gaston High School gymnasium.

The win improved the Rhinos to 14-9 overall this season and 5-5 in Region 10.

The clinching surge started after Denmark Tech had taken a 33-30 lead late in the first half. But the Rhinos scored the last six points of the first half and first six points of the second half and never trailed again.

"Our whole emphasis at halftime was, 'Don't let the ball stick and to share the ball,'" Gaston College coach David "Dickey" Nutt said. "I thought we did a better job with that 2nd half."

The Rhinos were led by a balanced attack of Jaylen Bates (17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals), DaMarco Watson (15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals), Dee Merriweather (14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Zavion Jackson (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals), Damon Davis (9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), Joshua Johnson (8 points) and Kalil Camara (6 points, 4 rebounds).

Nutt thought Jackson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, fueled his team with his efforts on both ends of the court.

"You have to talk about Zavion Jackson and his energy which was at a high level" Nutt said. "I told our guys (at a timeout) that you've got to get to his energy level. Zavion has really become a focused player the last few weeks and its elevated our overall team intensity which makes us a better defensive team."

The Rhinos now embark on a three-game road trip of Region 10 games - at Brunswick Community College on Wednesday, at Denmark Tech on Saturday and at USC Salkehatchie on Feb. 22 - before closing the regular season with home games Feb. 24 (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute at 7 p.m. at North Gaston High School) and Feb. 28 (Hosanna Bible College at 7 p.m. at South Point High School).

"It was a good win for us," Nutt said. "It was a good day and we appreciate all the fans that came out today to support us on Super Bowl Sunday."