March 3, 2008
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The WSSU men's basketball team is at the beach but are far from home for anything but a vacation as they prepare to take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University on Monday evening at Moore Gymnasium looking to snap a one-game skid in a men's college basketball contest.
Game #28 vs. Bethune-Cookman Notables...The Rams and the Wildcats will tip-off on Monday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida....The two teams will meet for the second time this season and third time in history...The game is a conference match-up as both teams are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) but does not count in the MEAC's overall standings...The Wildcats hold an 11-18 overall record and hold an impressive 5-10 mark in the MEAC...The Rams enter Monday's contest with an 11-16 record overall...Starting this season (2007-08) the two teams will face one another two times every year (once at home, once on the road) as part of the MEAC league schedule...The two teams have met only two times prior to Monday's contest with the series tied at 1-1...The Rams look to avenge their loss on Feb. 4 when Bethune-Cookman defeated WSSU 60-50 in Winston-Salem.
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The Usual Suspects (WSSU)
Darrell Wonge... One of a trio of WSSU seniors, Wonge has been dubbed "the face of the WSSU program" as he is the team's captain for the 2007-08 season...A natural two or three, Wonge is a speedy slasher with a deadly mid-range jumper and accuracy from beyond the three-point arc...Had a career day vs. Hampton on Jan. 19...Scored 30 points, almost half of the team's total (62)...Averaging just over 10.0 points per game...Led team in scoring at Florida A&M with 15 points, one of 5 Rams scoring in double figures.
Jamal
Isiah Tucker... Has appeared in all 27 games for the Rams...Averaging 6.4 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game...Is averaging almost 23 minutes per contest... Had a career high 16 points three times during his rookie season...Looks to follow in Roy Peake's assist footsteps...Averaging almost 3.0 assists per game (78 total)...Was held scoreless at Florida A&M, but had three defensive rebounds, one assist and one steal vs. Rattlers.
Brian Fisher... Ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game...Is second on the team with 238 field goals attempted (trailing only Jamal Durham and his 285 FGA)...Scored season high 20 points and had six rebounds at Howard...Third on the team in assists per game with 1.9 helpers per game and is third on the team in minutes per game, averaging 24.6 minutes per contest... One of five players to score in double-figures at Florida A&M.
Roy Peake... Rock solid, Peake is the most consistent player on the WSSU roster...Not a huge scorer (5.2 ppg)...Leads the team in minutes (30.7)...The fifth-year senior is second on the WSSU all-time assist chart with 449 helpers...Leads the team with 82 career starts...Peake has not missed a game during his WSSU career and appeared in his 114th consecutive game on March 1...Has a 2.26 to 1 assist to turnover ratio for his career (449 assists and 199 turnovers)...Has never fouled out in his career.
Game Details
The Winston-Salem State University Rams (11-16) versus the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats (11-18, 5-10 MEAC) at Moore Gymnasium (3,000 capacity) in Daytona Beach, Florida on March 3, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The contest is a part of a MEAC doubleheader (but does not count in the standings) with the WSSU Lady Rams taking to the court at 5:30 p.m. The men's game will tip-off 20 minutes after the completion of the women's contest.
Setting the Scene
The Rams are coming off of a 68-61 loss to Florida A&M on Saturday which broke a two-game win streak for WSSU. The Wildcats dropped an 85-81 overtime decision to
The Series In Depth
The Rams and Wildcats have met on two different occasions prior to this season. Last season, the Rams defeated the Wildcats 56-48 in
Streaks
The Rams' loss against Florida A&M on Saturday broke a two-game win streak for WSSU. Bethune-Cookman lost three straight games before snapping its losing streak on Feb. 25 at
Television Coverage
There will be no live television broadcast of the game between the Rams and the Wildcats.
WSSU Radio Coverage
The Rams will broadcast the contest versus the Wildcats live on the radio on WSNC 90.5 FM. WSNC is the flagship station of the Rams Radio Broadcasting Network and will carry all WSSU games live on the radio in the greater Winston-Salem, NC area and worldwide on the Internet at www.WSSU.edu. Alan Chavous will provide all the play-by-play action with Kim Spears providing the color analysis. Sharrod Patterson will appear on select broadcasts and provide in-depth analysis.
Bethune-Cookman Radio Coverage
The Wildcats will broadcast the contest between versus the Rams live on the radio on WELE 1380 AM. For additional information on potential B-CU radio broadcasts, contact the BCU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (386) 481-2206.
Live Statistical Broadcast
WSSU partners with CSTV Online and the Office of Athletic Media Relations will air a live statistical broadcast of the game between the Rams and the Wildcats on the Internet utilizing CSTV's GAMETRACKER software application. WSSU's live statistical broadcast will be available at WSSURams.com. The broadcast is free of charge to any viewer wishing to take advantage of the live statistics feature. The Wildcats, also a partner with CSTV Online, will broadcast a live stats feature at BCCAthletics.com.
Websites
WSSURAMS.com, the official website for
Whom To Contact
The
National Rankings
Neither the Rams nor the Wildcats are ranked in either the AP Top 25 poll or ESPN/USA Today poll. Neither team has been ranked this season and neither have received votes in 2007-08. Neither team has defeated a ranked team.
The Book On WSSU (11-16)
The Rams dropped to an 11-16 record after falling to Florida A&M on the road in
The Rams check in, as of press time, with 11 wins and 16 losses and with three games remaining in the 2007-08 season are assured of their second consecutive losing season.
WSSU is riding a one-game losing streak and is averaging 62.0 points per game while giving up nearly 68 points per contest (67.6).
The Rams are shooting 39.4 percent from the field and are allowing opponents to hit 43.1 percent of their attempts from the field en route to being outscored by 5.6 points per contest.
Leading the way for the Rams is junior forward Jamal Durham who is scoring 11.9 points per game and is shooting 39.6 percent from the field.
Senior forward Darrell Wonge has once again moved his scoring average above 10 points per game as Wonge's 15-point output versus Florida AM& on Saturday moved his scoring average to 10.1 points per game. Wonge is pulling down 4.7 rebounds per contest and is also amongst WSSU's best on the boards.
The Rams only downfall may be their inconsistency on the road. WSSU has just one road win in 12 tries this season as the Rams sport a 1-11 record in road games and a 2-11 record away from home with the second victory coming by way of a neutral site win in the second game of the season.
The Book On Bethune-Cookman (11-18, 5-10 MEAC)
The Wildcats are talented team that heads into Monday's action with an 11-18 overall record and a 5-10 mark in the MEAC. The Wildcats, like the Rams, are also riding a one-game losing streak as they dropped a difficult 85-81 decision, in overtime, to the Bulldogs of South Carolina State this past Saturday at Moore Gymnasium.
Bethune-Cookman is scoring 57.7 points per game and is allowing opponents to record 60.4 points per contest for a scoring deficit of only 2.8 points per contest. The Wildcats are shooting 43.4 percent from the field and are allowing opponents to hit 42.8 percent of their shots from the field.
Leading the way for the Wildcats is John Holmes who leads three Bethune-Cookman players in double-digits with 13.7 points per game. Holmes is averaging a team-best 6.1 rebounds per contest as he leads the Wildcats in nearly every offensive statistical category.
Joining Holmes in double figures is Dewayne Pettus who is averaging 12.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and Jimmy Hudson who is checking in with 11.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are 6-8 at home this season yet have dropped their last three games inside the usually friendly confines of Moore Gymnasium.
B-CU is 3-5 at home in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games and is shooting the ball nearly five percentage points higher at home than on the road.
Season Two For Collins
The 2007-08 season marks the second season at WSSU for head coach
Collins Versus Bethune-Cookman
WSSU head coach
Collins Versus the "
Last Action (Mar. 1 vs.
The Winston-Salem State University Rams held the Rattlers of Florida A&M University without a field goal for the final three minutes and five seconds yet were unable to sneak out of Gaither Gymnasium with a win on Saturday afternoon as FAMU defeated WSSU, 68-61, to split the season series between the two teams.
The Rams jumped out to an early 8-2 lead yet could never pull ahead of the Rattlers by more than six points as the early margin proved to be their largest advantage of afternoon as the Rattlers used nine three-point field goals in the game to keep the Rams at bay in a contest that saw three ties and five lead changes.
Following WSSU's early run to open the game, the Rattlers used a 19-9 run over the game's next 11 minutes of play to open up a four-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half, a lead that they would never relinquish.
Trailing by only three points, down 26-23, at the halftime intermission, the Rams could not even the game up in the second half as FAMU opened the game's final 20 minutes of play with a 9-2 run en route to one of their largest leads of the day, an eight-point spread, with more than 15 minutes of time remaining in the game.
Despite shooting nearly 46 percent from the field in the second half, WSSU was no match for the Rattlers and their eight-of-14 (57 percent) shooting from three point range in the game's final period.
Led by Leslie Robinson and his game-high 25 points, the Rattlers were able to fend off all challenges from the Rams en route to the win. Robinson recorded a six-of-ten shooting performance from long distance as he hit five second-half three-point field goals.
For the first time this season the Rams would see five players in double-digit scoring as Darrell Wonge led WSSU with a team-high 15 points. Joining Wonge in double-digits were Brian Fisher and Darius Floyd with 12 points each, and Jamal Durham and Paul Davis who each recorded 10 points in the loss.
WSSU led in nearly every statistical category as they lost only the three-point shooting battle as the Rams shot an unusually cold 1-of-12 (8.1 percent) from behind the three-point arc.
Three-point shooting would prove to be the difference in the contest as WSSU dropped the seven-point decision as the two teams split the season series.
WSSU drops to 11-16 on the season with the loss while Florida A&M improves to 12-16 with the victory. FAMU improves to 2-1 all-time versus the Rams while WSSU head coach
Senior Night
When the Rams took to the court versus
Manic Mondays
The Rams have had their share of difficulties playing on Mondays this season.
Winless On The Road No More
The Rams picked up their first, and only, road win of the season against Howard on Feb. 16 - their first victory away from home since January 27, 2007 when they earned a 56-48 victory over Bethune-Cookman. On the season, WSSU is 1-11 on the road. WSSU looks to improve upon that mark this Monday with a contest away from home.
Morris' Career Day
Freshman center Corey Morris had a career day on Feb. 18 at
First Half Woes
The Rams' 13 first-half points versus
Cold Shooting
The Rams' first-half shooting percentage of 18.2 percent versus the Bears of Morgan State on Feb. 9 marked the lowest single-half shooting percentage of the season for the Rams easily surpassing the previous single-half low of 21.9 percent that WSSU shot in the season-opener on Nov. 9 at Iowa State. February 11th's loss at
Largest Halftime Deficit
The Rams' 26-point deficit to the Morgan State Bears marked the largest halftime deficit of the season for the Rams. The Rams' previous season-high halftime deficit was 16 points.
Second Three-Game Losing Streak Snapped
The Rams' one-point victory over Howard on Feb. 16 snapped a three-game losing streak and is the second time WSSU stopped the streak from extending to four games. WSSU fell to
Only 12 Field Goals
The Rams recorded a season-low 12 total field goals at
Next Up
The Rams conclude the 2007-08 season on the road beginning March 1 against Florida A&M and remain in the
A Vast Improvement Over Last Year
The 30-Point Club
Darrell Wonge's 30-point performance versus the Pirates of Hampton on Jan. 21 marks the first 30-point individual scoring performance by a Ram in WSSU's Division I era and is the first time a WSSU player scored 30 points since Audly Wehner recorded 30 points at North Carolina Central on Feb. 5, 2005 a span of nearly three years (1,080 days).
Injury Update
The Rams have only one player on the injury report as freshman forward/center Paul Davis first appeared on the injury report prior to the first North Carolina A&T game.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
The Rams have hosted home games in three different venues this season. WSSU is 9-5 at home this season, 3-3 in home games at the Coliseum Annex, 4-2 in home games at the LJVM Coliseum; and a perfect 2-0 in games at the
Road Woes
The Rams posted their first, and only, win on the road on Feb. 16 against Howard. Prior to the victory, WSSU dropped nine contests on the road season and the closest WSSU came before Feb. 16th's win was a neutral site win over Lipscomb (68-58 from the American Family Insurance Cyclone Classic held at Iowa State on Nov. 10).
Lineup Shake-Up
WSSU head coach
Julian's First Start And Fifth Straight
WSSU junior forward/center Julian Murphy-Long started his sixth straight game of the season against Florida A&M on Feb. 25. The
Peake's Streak Snapped
Senior guard Roy Peake saw his streak of 21 consecutive games started snapped versus the Rattlers of Florida A&M on Feb. 2. Peake had started 21 straight games dating back to last season and had started 33 of the Rams' last 34 contests. He missed his second consecutive start on Monday, Feb. 4 versus Bethune-Cookman. Peake returned to the starting lineup on Feb. 9 at
Puckett's Buckets No More
Junior transfer Michael Puckett was as good, if not better, than advertised. Puckett led the Rams in scoring three times in the Rams' first 11 games of the 2007-08 season and recorded six games this season where he scored in double-figures.
Unfortunately for the Rams, Puckett was ruled academically ineligible (his GPA was too low) for the Spring semester of 2008 and will sit out the remainder of the Rams' season.
Commenting on Puckett's ineligibility, WSSU head coach
Most Lopsided Win Since 1977-78
The 105-59 win over UMES on Jan. 12, a 46-point margin of victory marks the Rams' most lopsided win since a 111-58 win over the Delaware State University Hornets that came in the 1977-78 season.
Gotta Get To 10
When the Rams record 10 or more steals in a game they have posted a 6-3 overall record. WSSU has posted a 5-12 record when they are held to less than 10 steals.
Comeback Kids
The Rams' come-from-behind 78-76 victory over the Bulldogs of
Giving Up Double-Doubles
The Rams have surrendered a double-double performance to an opponent 12 times in 2007-08 and have posted a 4-8 record when doing so.
Morris Not Redshirting
Prior to the season, WSSU head coach
Home Sweet Home
The Rams, a team that posted 23 road games last season, has benefitted from 15 contests played in
Been There, Done That
The Rams have faced teams from eight different Division I conferences this season. WSSU has faced the Big 12 (Iowa State and Kansas State) twice and the MEAC 16 times and WSSU has faced the Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb), Atlantic 10 (Duquesne), Colonial Athletic Association (Georgia State), South Western Athletic Conference (Alabama A&M), Atlantic Coast Conference (Wake Forest), Western Athletic Conference (Fresno State), and the BIG EAST (USF) one time each.
Taking Charge
The Rams have taken 38 charges through 27 games of the 2007-08 season, an average of 1.36 charges taken per contest. Seniors Darrell Wonge and Roy Peake lead the Rams with a team-high eight charges drawn. Four other players have tallied at least three drawn charges this season.
Largest Lead
The Rams' largest lead of the season came on Jan. 12 when they led the Hawks of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore by 48 points. That lead came only three days after the Rams had led the Pioneers of Columbia Union by 30 points.
No Action In The Early Signing Period
The Rams have no scholarships available as WSSU added six newcomers this past off season. WSSU did not sign any student-athletes in the early signing period due to no scholarships being available.
In, But Not Completely
Though the Rams are considered a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) they are unable to compete for a championship until the 2010-11 season (per NCAA reclassification mandates). The Rams will play a full slate of MEAC games (18 conference games) but will be ineligible for a conference title, ineligible for postseason awards, and will not be listed in the MEAC statistics at seasons' end.
Movin' On Up
The Rams are currently in the third year of a five-year transition from the NCAA Division II level to the highest level of intercollegiate athletics at the NCAA Division I level. In a drive to support rapid growth and attain higher visibility, the Board of Trustees at WSSU approved a plan for reclassification of the school's athletic programs to compete at the NCAA Division I level. WSSU, formerly a member of NCAA Division II and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) where they earned 10 conference titles and the 1967 National Championship, began the five-year reclassification process in 2005-06 and will complete the process in 2010-11.
Half-Dozen States
The 2007-08 WSSU men's basketball roster is comprised of team members from six different states. The Rams have nine players from
Increased Size
The Rams will benefit from increased height on the roster this season as all seven newcomers to the WSSU roster are at least 6'1" or taller. The Rams welcome the addition of a trio of players 6'8" (McIntoche Alcius at 6'8", Paul Davis at 6'9", and Corey Morris at 6'10") or taller and a pair of 6'4" guards (Vaudrey Funderburke and Michael Puckett) as well as adding the services of a 6'1" guard (Isiah Tucker).
62nd Year
The Rams have turned in an overall record of 1065-637 over the span of 61 completed seasons of men's basketball competition for a winning percentage of 62.6 percent. The Rams have turned in 49 winning seasons and have recorded only 10 losing seasons.
National Champions
Under the tutelage of legendary coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines and behind the play of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Earl "The Pearl"
The House That Gaines Built
Legendary coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines coached at
