Feb. 9, 2008

Final Stats |  Notes

BALTMORE, MD - While a single half of basketball rarely wins a team a game, the Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team proved on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland that 20 minutes of play can lose a team a game as the Bears of Morgan State used a quick start to end the Rams' quest for a victory as MEAC-leading Morgan State started with a 16-4 run en route to cruising past the Rams by the score of 63-41 in men's college basketball action.

The Rams fell victim to a combination of factors on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House as the Bears turned in one of their best single-half performances of the season, coupled with WSSU's worst single-half performance of the season as a myriad of factors combined to down the Rams.

Using a 16-4 run to start the game over the contest's first seven minutes play the Bears used a 24-9 first-half rebounding advantage, a 51.6 percent field goal shooting performance (16 of 31), nine assists on 16 first-half field goals (56.3 percent of field goals assisted upon), and a perfect half from the free throw line as Morgan State amassed a 39-13 lead after 20 minutes of play and never looked back as they recorded their 14^th win of the season.

Conversely the Rams' first half was as poor a showing as the Bears' half was promising.  Winston-Salem State scored only 13 points in the first 20 minutes of play, their lowest single-half total of the season that fell far short of the season's previous low of 20 points scored in the first half versus Wake Forest on Nov. 23.

WSSU's 20 points came on a season-low single-half shooting percentage of 18.2 percent which surpassed the Rams' previous season-low of 21.9 percent suffered in the season-opener at Iowa State on Nov. 9. 

The 26-point halftime deficit, the Rams' largest deficit of the season, would prove to be too much for the young Rams to overcome as Morgan State never allowed Winston-Salem State to get closer than 20 points for the remainder of the contest.

To the Rams' credit, Bobby Collin's youthful team would keep pace with the league-leading Bears over the first 10 minutes of play in the second half as both WSSU and Morgan State scored 13 points each heading into a media timeout at the halfway point of the second period.

Despite the strong second-half effort, the Bears' lead would be an insurmountable one as the Rams dropped their second consecutive game to Morgan State.

Leading the way for Morgan State was Marquise Kately who recorded a game-high 14 points as he led three Bears into double-figures in scoring.  Darrell Wonge led the Rams with 11 points in the loss as he was the only WSSU player to score 10 or more points.

The loss drops the Rams to 8-13 overall while the Bears improve to 14-8 overall (8-1 MEAC). 

Winston-Salem State University returns to action on Monday, Feb. 13, 2008 at 7:30 pm as they face the Coppin State University Eagles from the Coppin Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

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 WSSURams.com.