Gaston College takes home victory before Region 10 road trip begins on Saturday

With five Region 10 road games coming up out of its next six games, Gaston College used a home tuneup on Wednesday to get ready.

Moravian Prep stressed the Rhinos with their long-range shooting but Gaston College used another balanced attack to come out with an 86-70 at the Ashbrook High School gymnasium.

The Rhinos improved to 11-4 overall and they'll take a 1-1 Region 10 record into a stretch of road conference games that starts on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Denmark Tech.

"I felt good about getting a win because we never take winning for granted," Gaston College head coach Jamie Rosser said. "Moravian guards do a great job of driving and kicking and they shoot the 3-ball with a lot of confidence.
"We could've easily gone to a zone, but we want to be prepared to guard these types of guys when we get to conference play that starts this Saturday, so tonight was a great test. We must improve on rebounding limiting teams to one shot, and find a way to step up to the line and make some free throws."

Dee Merriweather (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Tyree Bracey (13 points, 6 rebounds), Joshua Johnson (11 points, 5 rebounds), Jamal Ukaegbu (10 points, 4 rebounds), Jordan Guthrie (8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), DaMarco Watson (7 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists), Michael Smith (7 points, 7 rebounds), Yarayah Evans (6 points, 3 rebounds) and Chaundre Bratcher (5 points) combined for the Rhinos' offense.

Moravian Prep, which converted 14 of 42 3-point attempts, closed within 26-25 in the middle of the first half before Gaston College outscored the visiting Lions 18-6 to end the half.

The Rhinos built as much as a 20-point lead in the second half before taking the 16-point victory over Moravian Prep, which fell to 18-13.

After Saturday's game at Denmark Tech, Gaston College visits Spartanburg Methodist on Feb. 1, Caldwell Tech on Feb. 4 and Cape Fear Community College on Feb. 8 before returning home on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. against Denmark Tech.