Gaston College struggles on the road again in Region 10 loss

Gaston College's basketball team came out slow for a second straight game and a strong second half effort wasn't enough in a 56-53 road loss to Wake Tech in Region 10 Division I action on Wednesday night.

"For two halves at Cape Fear and the first half today, we just had negative energy," Gaston College coach Benny Moss said of last Saturday's 83-63 loss at Cape Fear Community College and Wednesday's game. "But we saw some things we liked to start the second half and if we can continue to build on that we'll be OK."

The Rhinos (18-5, 4-4) trailed by as many as 15 points late in the first half before a 23-2 surge in the middle of the game gave them a 43-37 lead with 13:19 to play.

In the end, 19 turnovers, 31 percent overall shooting and 29 percent on 3-pointers proved to much to overcome.

"I can live with the energy we had to start the second half," Moss said. "Then it became about execution. And we didn't execute well enough down the stretch. It's tough to win with that many turnovers and those shooting numbers."

Gaston College last led at 51-48 with 7:56 to play before scoring on three free throws with nine straight missed field goals, including two potential tying 3-point tries in the final seconds, and four turnovers in the team's last 13 possessions.

Sophomore Judah Ravenell (13 points, 9 rebounds), freshman Spencer Breeden (9 points), sophomore Tyheim Love (8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) and sophomore Jordan Brown (8 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists) led Gaston College.

Gaston College returns to action with a three-game homestand at Gastonia's Ashbrook High School - Saturday against Brunswick Community College at 3 p.m., next Wednesday against Wake Tech at 8 p.m. and Feb. 22 against Richard Bland at 3 p.m.