Basketball Recap: Gaston Christian Now 9-1 over Last Ten Games

You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Gaston Christian's strategy against DeLand on Monday. The Gaston Christian Eagles wrapped up 2024 with a 66-48 win over the DeLand Bulldogs. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 19th in North Carolina, while the Bulldogs are ranked 166th in Florida), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cameron Newman

Steals

12/30/24 @ DeLand	2
12/28/24 vs Archbishop McCarthy	4
12/27/24 vs Northshore	6
12/21/24 vs Huss	2
12/13/24 @ Asheville School (Independent)	2

Gaston Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cameron Newman, who posted 13 points and six boards. Newman has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 12 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Dario Williams, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 12 points and eight rebounds.

Gaston Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in ten consecutive matches.

Despite the loss, DeLand still got an impressive performance from Justin Suarez, who went 9 of 16 on his way to 27 points in addition to five boards and three steals. That was a full 56.3% of DeLand's points, marking the third time in a row he's put up more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyle Carrico, who had six points and six rebounds.

Gaston Christian is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.4 points per game. As for DeLand, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-5 record this season.

Gaston Christian wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 57-51 win against Heritage on the 4th. As for DeLand, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 75-73 victory against Father Lopez on the 7th.