Dec. 3, 2004
Winston-Salem, NC - The Rams' five-game win streak officially ended on Friday evening at the C.E. Gaines Center as 3,150 fans in a packed house watched WSSU's final two shots of the game come up short in a bid to force overtime as the Spartans of USC-Upstate stole a 49-46 win from the Rams in the second game of the C.E. Gaines Basketball Classic in Winston-Salem, NC.
Both teams entered the contest riding five-game win streaks and possessed identical records at 5-1 but one team's luck would run out, and unfortunately for Ram fans, it was WSSU's luck that came up short in the contest.
The game was a very close contest throughout as the two teams were separated by only three points at halftime with the Spartans leading 25-22, which would prove to be the game's final margin. USC-Upstate led by as many as nine points in the first half but it would prove to be WSSU's pressure defense that got the Rams back into the contest.
The second half of play saw the two teams improve their shooting percentage as they both shot just over 40% from the field. Despite the improved shooting, neither team was able to establish dominance or take control of the game as there were four lead changes in the games' final 20-minutes of play.
The game would be decided in the final 2:05 as the visiting Spartans led by nine points and looked to be in control of the contest.
However, the Rams used an Audly Wehner (So./Fayetteville, NC) three-point play to cut USC-Upstate's lead to six points with 1:51 remaining. Alleggrie Guinn (Jr./Charlotte, NC) would get in the act on the very next play, stealing the in-bounds pass to set up another WSSU bucket to close the gap to four points.
Following a C.J. Paul free-throw that increased the USC-Upstate lead back to five points, Wehner would again strike gold as he had the chance to complete another three-point play.
|
|
 |
Wehner would miss the free throw and WSSU forced a jump ball to regain possession with just over 24 seconds to play in the game. Trailing by three points, and with all their three-point shooters on the floor, WSSU would look to tie the contest and force overtime.
The Rams got two clean looks at the game-tying shot, however Alleggrie Guinn's three-point attempt failed to draw iron, and Frank Johnson's (Jr./Washington, DC) last-second effort narrowly missed as WSSU fell in defeat 69-66.
Wehner led the way for the Rams as he tallied 12 points and pulled down six rebounds in the game. He was joined in double-figures by Alleggrie Guinn who recorded 10 points, despite having an off-shooting evening as he connected on only two of his 12 shots from the field.
Richie Stevens paced the visiting Spartans with 12 points as he was the only USC-Upstate player to break into double-figures in scoring.
With the win, USC-Upstate improves to 6-1 overall (0-0 Peach Belt) and will return to action on Saturday as they face off against Johnson C. Smith University, who lost the first game of the night to the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State by the score of 88-79, at 3:00 pm. The Rams fall to 5-2 overall (0-0 CIAA) with the loss and will return to action on Saturday versus those same Yellow Jackets at 5:00 pm.
For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143.
