Feb. 26, 2011

Final Stats

FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Every bounce seemed to be going the Winston-Salem Rams' way.

With 8 minutes to go, Marcus Wells dribbled the ball off his knee, only for it to carom right to Shelton Carter, who fired a wide open 3-point attempt.

The shot misfired, but Paul Davis was in the paint under the glass. He corralled the rebound and went up for what looked like a sure bucket.

Enter Sidney Evans. The Fayetteville State junior forward came over from the weak side to block the shot, and the Broncos were off and running the other way, with Tyrell Tate hitting a runner, bringing a raucous Capel Arena crowd to its feet.

Alas, Winston-Salem State was too much in the end, prevailing 74-69 to capture the CIAA Southern Division title.

But the Broncos made the Rams earn it.

Down by 17 points with just under 7 minutes remaining, Fayetteville State (13-13, 8-9, 4-6) made a 14-1 run to close to 66-62 with 1:06 remaining. The Broncos eventually trimmed the deficit to two points twice in the last minute, but Winston-Salem State (19-6, 12-5, 7-3) made enough foul shots down the stretch to hold the Broncos off.

Still, Fayetteville State had a chance to tie the game and play in overtime for the first time this season. But Evans (Jr., Durham, NC) was stripped of the ball with 6 seconds left, essentially ending the Broncos' comeback attempt.

Fayetteville State, which had a chance to ascend as high as third in the Southern Division with a win and a Johnson C. Smith loss, will now have to wait for Sunday morning to find out which team it will play in the opening round of the CIAA Tournament on Wednesday in Charlotte.

The Rams were led by Stephon Platt's 14 points to go with eight rebounds. Wells added 13 points while Carter had 12. Paul Davis, the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year, added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds as Winston-Salem State held a 46-32 edge on the boards.

Seth Hawkins (So., Greensboro, NC), whose 3-pointer sparked the late run, led the Broncos with 17 points while Tate (Fr., Raleigh, NC) added 16 points, many of which helped fuel the Broncos' last spurt.

In front of a near-capacity crowd of 4,594, Fayetteville State came out with a definite swagger, rushing out to a 21-11 lead at the 8:55 mark of the first half.

But the Rams took over from there, and closed the half on a 25-9 run to take a 36-30 lead into the half.

Winston-Salem kept the run going from there, eventually outscoring Fayetteville State by a staggering 40-14 edge spanning the half to build a 51-35 lead with 14:33 remaining in the game.

The Rams took their biggest lead at 65-48 with 6:33 remaining before Fayetteville State embarked on its huge run, which sent the Capel Arena faithful into a fury with the hopes of a dramatic comeback against the Broncos' rival. Fayetteville State struggled mightily from the foul line, shooting just 10 of 25 from the stripe.