Feb. 4, 2008
Final Stats
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team was unable to overcome a tenacious Bethune-Cookman University squad and a 26-point offensive explosion by Dewayne Pettus as they fell in defeat to the Wildcats 60-50 at the Joel Coliseum Annex.
Pettus, a 6'2", senior guard from Pittsburgh, PA proved to be too much for the Rams as he nearly single-handedly lifted the Wildcats to the win with a career-high 26 points, all but 11 of which came in the second half.
Winston-Salem State, though trailing 27-26, and down by only one point at the half, found themselves on the unfamiliar end of a rebounding and shooting disparity as the Wildcats took 10 more first-half shots and pulled down 11 more first-half rebounds than the usually aggressive Rams.
Despite trailing 26 shots to 16, the Rams hit 56.3 percent of their field goal attempts in the first half of play and withstood nine second-chance points by the visiting Wildcats as they found themselves embroiled in a contest in which the lead changed hands five times during the first 20 minutes of play.
Carried by the play of their senior guard, the Wildcats pushed their lead to 10 points midway through the second half as Pettus scored 14 of Bethune-Cookman's first 17 points in the period.
Plagued by difficulties on the defensive glass the Rams were outrebounded nearly two-to-one (38 to 21) and allowed the Wildcats numerous second-chance opportunities yet WSSU was still able to trim the BCU lead to a manageable six points with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
It would prove not to be enough for the Rams as Joey Woods scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half as BCU escaped from Winston-Salem, NC with a 10-point victory.
Pettus led all scorers with 26 points, a career-high. He tallied seven rebounds and recorded three steals in the win. Joining Pettus in double-figures was Joey Woods with 12 points and Jimmy Hudson with 10 points.
Leading the Rams was Jamal Durham's team-high 12 points. Darrell Wonge joined Durham in double-figures with 10 points in the loss.
The loss drops the Rams to 8-12 overall while the Wildcats improve to 9-13 overall with the win.
The Rams return to action on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008 at 4:00 pm when they face the Bears of Morgan State University at the Hill Field House in Baltimore, Maryland in a MEAC league contest.
For additional information on Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at WSSURams.com.
