Feb. 18, 2004
Durham, NC - The Rams headed to Durham, NC and the campus of North Carolina Central University looking to complete a regular-season sweep of the Eagles for the first time since the 2000-01 season, however, for the second straight year, the Eagles would possess a 28-point lead over WSSU. Last season, the Eagles squandered their lead and were forced to win in overtime. This season was different as the Eagles continued to add to their lead en route to earning a 97-65 win.
Those fans in attendance watched the Rams fall behind by as many as 15 points midway through the first half of play as WSSU spent the majority of the first 20 minutes trying to dig themselves out of a hole, while the Eagles scored on nearly every possession.
The Rams, who were staring at an Eagle deficit since the opening basket of the contest never got an offensive rhythm in the game, and looked to be at the mercy of the CIAA's tallest team as they struggled to get open looks at the basket and got nothing done in the paint.
The halftime deficit would be 15 points with the Eagles holding the 48-33 lead. The lone first half bright spot for the Rams would be Alleggrie Guinn (So./G/6'3"/Charlotte, NC) who tallied 17 of his team-high 23 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
The second half got no better for the Rams as NCCU scored on 11 of their first 12 possessions and led by as many as 35 points with only six minutes left to play in the contest.
North Carolina Central had four of five starters tally double-figures in scoring and were led by David Young who recorded a game-high 24 points on 10 of 14 shooting in the contest helping to lead the Eagles to a season-high shooting percentage of 63.3% (38 of 60).
With the win, the Eagles improve to 12-11 overall (8-6 CIAA) and 6-3 in the Western Division and keep the possibility of winning the Western Division alive. The Rams fall to 15-11 overall (6-10 CIAA) and 3-7 in the Western Division and are relegated to the fifth seed in the Western Division in next week's 2004 CIAA Basketball tournament.
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The Rams return to action again tomorrow night as they travel to Farmville, VA to take on Longwood University looking to close out the 2003-04 regular season with a victory.
For additional information, log on to the Winston-Salem State University athletic department web site at www.wssurams.com.
