Gaston College posts impressive win in home opener

Gaston College and new head coach Benny Moss had an impressive win in its 2024-25 home opener in Wednesday night's 92-59 victory over Patrick & Henry Community College at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School.

The Rhinos trailed for just 3 1/2 minutes in the opening half - the last time at 36-34 with 3:03 left in the first half - before taking control with a strong burst in the middle of the game.

Gaston College closed the first half on a 7-2 surge for a 41-38 lead at the break, then scored the first 13 points of the second half for a comfortable 54-38 lead with 15:03 left in the contest.

The visiting Patriots, playing in their season-opener, got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

"We definitely feel good about the home win," said Moss, whose team evened its record at 1-1. "That's definitely the way to start the home season.
"I thought in the first half, we were playing fairly good offense but we got into a dangerous mode because we weren't focused enough on defense. We were content to trade baskets at times. In the second half, we did a much better job of sharing the ball more on offense and really digging in defensively and making them take tough, contested shots and finishing possessions with rebounds.
"And when we got up, we didn't play the score. We played one possession at a time. That's how a 10-point lead can become a 15-point lead and 15-point lead can become 20."

The Rhinos were ahead by 20 points at the 6:50 mark in the second half and the 33-point final margin of victory was their largest lead.

Jozohn Price (16 points, 5 rebounds), E.J. Joyner (15 points, 7 assists), Ryan Evans (10 points), Judah Ravenell (8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), Jordan Brown (8 points, 6 rebounds), Tyheim Love (8 points) and Spencer Breeden (8 points) led a balanced attack.

Brown, who has received recruiting attention from 14 NCAA Division I schools, was playing in his first game after suffering an injury in preseason drills.

"It was good to get Jordan back from the injury," Moss said. "He'll be better and healthier each time he gets to play."

Moss also had high praise for Joyner and Price.

"I thought E.J. did a good job of getting into the paint and breaking the defense down," Moss said. "He also did a good job against their (top scoring guard) in the second half. He really made him work for baskets.
"And Jozohn did a goob job of mixing in post moves with the pick-and-pop on the perimeter and being a multi-dimensional player."

Gaston College remains at home in its next game on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ashbrook against the Pfeiffer University developmental team.