Gaston Day outlasts Gaston Christian
Demilade Adelekun scores 39 points and the game-winning buckets in the closing seconds for the Spartans
GASTONIA - Gaston Christian still has never beaten Gaston Day in boys high school basketball.
It’s because Gaston Day’s 6-foot-8 Demilade Adelekun wouldn’t be denied in the closing minutes of what became a 70-68 Spartans’ come-from-behind win on Friday night.
“They were the better team and they played harder and seemed to want it more most of the night,” Gaston Day coach Trent McCallister said of visiting Gaston Christian. “But somehow we found a way. And Demi was the biggest reason.”
Adelekun, who is being recruited by NCAA Division I and Division II schools, had 39 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
Adelekun’s driving layup with 6.5 seconds left gave Gaston Day its first lead since 4-2 - and the game’s final margin.
The win improved the Spartans to 3-0 in the Metrolina Athletic Conference and 11-4 overall entering Tuesday night’s home game against Concord First Assembly.
Gaston Christian, which fell to 1-5 and 7-6, led for all but 16.5 seconds of Friday’s game. That included a game-high 13-point lead (37-24) late in the first half and a 11-point lead (54-43) with 1:47 left the third quarter.
Junior guard Marley Gordon’s 28 points led the Eagles, who also got 11 points apiece from Michael Peters and Blake Lanier and eight from Nick Steward.
“We talked to our guys about competing - on the glass, on the defensive end and for every loose ball,” Gaston Christian coach Josh Gross said. “We battled and battled and battled.”
But the Spartans had just enough to survive, largely because of Adelekun, who scored 27 of his 39 points in the second half as Gaston Day rallied to win after trailing 39-31 at halftime.
“We came out preetty bad,” Adelekun said. “But we did what we had to do to win.”
The Eagles had two shots in the final seconds but both misfired.
Jakai Belton added 13 points, Michael Collins 10 points and John Crump five points and five assists.
Girls game
Gaston Day 64, Gaston Christian 37 - Olivia King scored 21 points, Zaria Clark 20 and Cameron Harris 12 for the Spartans (9-5, 3-0). The Eagles (5-5, 1-5) were led by Hannah Bonisa’s game-high 26 points.
Demilade Adelekun scores 39 points and the game-winning buckets in the closing seconds for the Spartans
GASTONIA - Gaston Christian still has never beaten Gaston Day in boys high school basketball.
It’s because Gaston Day’s 6-foot-8 Demilade Adelekun wouldn’t be denied in the closing minutes of what became a 70-68 Spartans’ come-from-behind win on Friday night.
“They were the better team and they played harder and seemed to want it more most of the night,” Gaston Day coach Trent McCallister said of visiting Gaston Christian. “But somehow we found a way. And Demi was the biggest reason.”
Adelekun, who is being recruited by NCAA Division I and Division II schools, had 39 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
Adelekun’s driving layup with 6.5 seconds left gave Gaston Day its first lead since 4-2 - and the game’s final margin.
The win improved the Spartans to 3-0 in the Metrolina Athletic Conference and 11-4 overall entering Tuesday night’s home game against Concord First Assembly.
Gaston Christian, which fell to 1-5 and 7-6, led for all but 16.5 seconds of Friday’s game. That included a game-high 13-point lead (37-24) late in the first half and a 11-point lead (54-43) with 1:47 left the third quarter.
Junior guard Marley Gordon’s 28 points led the Eagles, who also got 11 points apiece from Michael Peters and Blake Lanier and eight from Nick Steward.
“We talked to our guys about competing - on the glass, on the defensive end and for every loose ball,” Gaston Christian coach Josh Gross said. “We battled and battled and battled.”
But the Spartans had just enough to survive, largely because of Adelekun, who scored 27 of his 39 points in the second half as Gaston Day rallied to win after trailing 39-31 at halftime.
“We came out preetty bad,” Adelekun said. “But we did what we had to do to win.”
The Eagles had two shots in the final seconds but both misfired.
Jakai Belton added 13 points, Michael Collins 10 points and John Crump five points and five assists.
Girls game
Gaston Day 64, Gaston Christian 37 - Olivia King scored 21 points, Zaria Clark 20 and Cameron Harris 12 for the Spartans (9-5, 3-0). The Eagles (5-5, 1-5) were led by Hannah Bonisa’s game-high 26 points.
