Feb. 21, 2007

Final Stats

FARGO, ND - Darrell Wonge's 19 points, including five three-pointers could not propel the Rams of Winston-Salem State University to a victory on Wednesday evening in Fargo, North Dakota as WSSU fell in defeat to the Bison of North Dakota State University.

The two teams who were meeting for only the second time in history traded baskets, and the lead, during the first half of play as neither the Rams nor the Bison held an insurmountable advantage as the 1,812 fans in attendance witness to seven ties and 14 lead changes.

The Bison, who won the only other meeting between the two teams on January 20, 2007 by the score of 87-63, started the game on a quick 7-0 run as they held the Rams without a field goal for nearly four minutes.

WSSU responded with a 6-0 run of their own as WSSU turned a pair of NDSU turnovers into easy baskets as the Rams closed to within one point during a furious 51 seconds of tenacious defensive play.

The two teams were content to trade baskets for the remainder of the half as North Dakota State University held a one field-goal advantage at the half as they clutched to a 30-28 lead.

The Bison wasted little time following the halftime intermission as North Dakota State mounted a 25-11 run over the first 11:30 of the second half as they increased their lead to a game-high 16 points at 58-42 with less than nine minutes remaining in the contest.

"We had some mental lapses which they took advantage of and ran away with.  We got behind and then we were forced to gamble, and when you gamble and don't come up with the steal, they usually get lay-ups on the other end, and that is what happened.  We have to play for 40 minutes and we didn't do that and obviously, missing Darius [leading scorer Darius Floyd] hurt us" WSSU head coach Bobby Collins stated in post-game interviews.

Despite the Bison run, second-half action was not decidedly one-sided as the Rams turned in several key performances including Darrell Wonge's impressive six-of-seven shooting performance which included a five-of-six shooting display from three-point range en route to a team-high 19 points.

"Wonge responded.  I challenged him at halftime.  He didn't even take a three in the first half, and I challenged him to get his looks in the second half and he did.  He hit some big shots.  However, they out-rebounded us big, and shot far more free throws than us.  It takes more than one person stepping up to get a win" Collins said.

Wonge's 19 points led three WSSU players in double figures as Norman Carter tallied 14 points and Brian Fisher recorded 11 points in the loss.  North Dakota State was led by Brett Winkelman's 27 points as he led four Bison in double figures.

The loss drops the Rams to 5-23 overall and runs WSSU's losing streak to two games.  With the win, the Bison move to 17-8 on the season and increase their mark of consecutive wins to two games.

Winston-Salem State returns to action on March 2, 2007 as they close out the 2006-07 season with a road contest in Orangeburg, South Carolina versus the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University.  Tip-off is slated for 7:00 pm.

For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com.

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