Gaston College goes on the road to take sixth straight victory

Gaston College faced a hot nearby team on the road Wednesday night in the Rhinos' fourth game in nine days and third game in five days.

A recipe for failure?

Not a chance as Gaston College outlasted Cleveland Community College 79-73 in a matchup of teams who entered with 5-1 records.

"They're a really good team," first-year Rhinos head coach Benny Moss said. "With all the games we've played lately, I thought our depth really came through."

The Rhinos took their sixth straight victory after trailing by five points twice in the first half.

After Gaston College forged a 36-all tie at halftime, it took control early in the second half with eight straight points after the teams were tied at 43 with 15:48 to play.

Freshman reserve forward Ryan Evans led the getaway with all 11 of his points in four-minute stretch in the middle of the second half on three 3-pointers and a slam dunk.

After Evans' third 3-pointer made it 59-52 with 8:10 to play, the host Yetis (5-2) got no closer than two points the rest of the way.

"We beat a really good team on the road today," Moss said. "It wasn't pretty at all times but we grinded it out and found a way to win. Ryan really broke the game open for us with those 3s."

Moss also had high praise for freshman reserves Kayleb Coles and Kyhree McAlister.

"It was really a good team win," Moss said.

Sophomores Judah Ravenell (17 points, 6 rebounds), Jordan Brown (13 points, 4 assists) and Tyheim Love (13 points) and freshmen Evans (11 points, 3 rebounds), E.J. Joyner (11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Jozohn Price (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Coles (6 points, 5 rebounds) led another balanced attack for the Rhinos.

Gaston College returns to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. against the Catawba College developmental team at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School.