Nov. 5, 2004

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Chapel Hill, NC - The University of North Carolina Tarheels and their fans gave Clarence "Big House" Gaines and his wife a warm welcome to the Dean E. Smith Center on Friday evening, complete with a pre-game ceremony, a standing ovation, and a bouquet of flowers. However, the Rams were not greeted nearly as warmly as the Tarheels jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back as they defeated Winston-Salem State University 113-54 in exhibition-game basketball action in Chapel Hill, NC.

It took the Rams three minutes and two seconds to record their first basket of the evening when Audly Wehner's (So./Fayetteville, NC) leaner was goaltended before being fouled. Wehner promptly hit the free throw and the Rams trailed by only four points at 7-3.

However, that four point lead would be as close as the Rams would get all evening as UNC promptly went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 18-3 with nearly 14 minutes remaining in the first half of play.

The `Heels size and athleticism would continue to pay dividends for them as they poured it on over the next ten minutes of play en route to a 44-15 advantage with exactly five minutes left in the first half.

The Rams used high-pressure defense to try to contain North Carolina, but it would prove to be Carolina's defense that would completely contain the Rams. UNC head coach Roy Williams, who had been stressing defense during the week prior to the game, and who at one point put his team through an entire practice with no rims on the basket standard, showed why they are consistently voted as one of the nation's best defensive teams as they recorded seven steals in the first half.

David Noel would put an exclamation point on the first half of play as he thundered home a one-handed dunk as time expired off of the Rams 13th turnover of the half to end the first 20 minutes of play with UNC holding the convincing 52-25 lead.

The second half of play saw the Rams settle down and execute their offensive and defensive game plans as the game's pace slowed down considerably. WSSU received offensive firepower from Alleggrie Guinn (Jr./Charlotte, NC) and the 2004 CIAA Rookie of the Year Audly Wehner (So./Fayetteville, NC) who helped the Rams try, unsuccessfully, to stop the Tarheel lead from ballooning out of control.

Head Coach Philip Stitt and the Rams used the second 20 minutes of play to execute their offensive sets against the #3 ranked team in the nation, and got a "...valuable learning experience for the young players and the team."

The Tarheels continued to roll offensively and would eventually crack the century mark, as they went on a 27-6 run to add to their 30 point lead as they became the first team to score 100 points on the Rams and hand them a defeat since the 1997-98 season when Fayetteville State defeated WSSU 112-104 on Valentine's Day.

WSSU received valuable experience and offensive contributions from Alleggrie Guinn who tallied a team-high 17 points, and Audly Whener who recorded 11 points and three rebounds.

WSSU falls to 1-1 on the exhibition season with the loss and will play one more exhibition contest on Thursday, November 11th, 2004 as they make the short trip to the cross-town Lawrence Joel Coliseum Complex to take on the #1 ranked Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University. The contest is sold out, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm.

For more information on Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official website of WSSU Athletics at wssurams.com