Winston-Salem, NC - Wake Forest University escaped from the clutches of an energized Winston-Salem State University Rams' men's basketball team on Thursday evening at the Joel Coliseum as the Demon Deacons handed WSSU a 88-84 loss in exhibition basketball action.
The first half of play could not have gone any better for Ram fans as WSSU led by as many as six points during the game's first 20 minutes.
The Rams, who were playing without the services of their two best players, and top two scorers from a season ago in Audly Wehner (knee surgery) and Alleggrie Guinn (violation of team rule), saw bench play and three-point field goal accuracy help keep the 18th-ranked Demon Deacons at bay.
Wake Forest opened up an early lead in the contest and led by 11 points with 10:24 to play in the first half when the Rams used their trademark pressure defense to mount a run of their own.
WSSU used a 15-0 run over a span of 2:30 of play midway through the half to turn an 11-point deficit into a four-point lead, the Rams' first lead of the contest.
The two teams would then trade baskets as the Rams looked to take a lead into the locker room at halftime.
Curtis Hines' three-pointer with two seconds remaining in the half fell just short as the Demon Deacons led the Rams 42-41 at the close of the period.
Corey Parker would be the star of the first half as he came off the Ram bench and scored 12 points in only nine minutes as he was a perfect three-for-three from the field and five-for-six from the free throw line.
The second half proved to be just as exciting as the first as the two teams strung together impressive runs against one another as neither team led by more than nine points.
The contest continued to stay close down to the wire as the Rams continued to play well against the powerful Demon Deacons.
Trailing by two at 82-80 with a fraction more than one minute to play, the Rams could not stop Eric Williams as he looked to put the game out of the reach of Winston-Salem State.
An inside power move earned Williams his 25th and 26th points of the game and pushed the Deacon lead to 84-80 with 57 seconds to play.
Not to be outdone, the Rams' Darrell Wonge buried a long-range three-pointer with 28.1 seconds left in the contest to close the WSSU deficit to one point at 84-83.
The Demon Deacons tacked on a pair of Justin Gray free-throws to push the lead to three points and seal the win. It would be free throws in the game's waning moments that increased the winning margin to four points.
Corey Parker led the Rams with 21 points as he led three Rams into double-digits in scoring. Curtis Hines chipped in with 12 points as he turned in a four-of-nine performance from behind the three-point arch and Roy Peake added 10 points in the loss.
Eric Williams tallied 26 points in the contest as he missed only one field goal in the contest en route to an 11-of-12 shooting performance.
With the loss the Rams fall to 0-1 on the exhibition season while Wake Forest improves to 1-0. WSSU's next action will be in their regular season opener while Wake Forest will host Mars Hill in their final exhibition game of 2005-06 on November 5, 2005.
The Rams return to action on November 15, 2005 at 7:30 pm when they face Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, NC in the regular-season opener for both teams.
For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com .
- wssurams.com -
