Men's, women's teams fail to capture intramural basketball championships

Winston-Salem State's men's and women's intramural teams failed to bring home the top prize as they traveled to Raleigh for the ACIS Basketball Regional and National Championships on April 13-15.
In the women's bracket, the No. 1 seed, Rams were upset by East Carolina, 51-50 in opening round women's club of division play.
For the ECU Pirates, Carman Perocozzi scored 19 points including 8 of 9 shots from the field. Amanda Keehan posted 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
WSSU's LaToya Armstrong air balled the game-tying free throw with less than one-half second left in regulation but led all scorers with 20 points including five 3-pointers.
In the women's second game, the Rams failed to bounce back by losing to UNC-Chapel Hill in a lack luster effort 46-24, ending their run to compete for a national championship.
Armstrong continued her strong play by contributing 13 points.
"We've had a lot of inconsistencies this season with the girls, which I think contributed to our horrible play not just in this tournament, but throughout the whole season," Coach Dash McNeil said.
The Lady Rams failed to get past pool play in all but one tournament this intramural season.
"We had a hard time getting players to practice and to games," McNeil said.
"There was no desire to play basketball from these ladies, the desire and passion that they had in the past."
In the men's bracket, the Rams demonstrated a little more effort, by winning three out of five games played in two days, before losing in the Elite Eight.
In the opening round of play, the Rams defeated Georgian Gwinnett, 48-41.
On day two, the field of 71 teams narrowed to 14 with the championship set in the women's intramural division and Final Four teams in men's and women's club and men's intramural divisions. Pool play concluded for men's club teams and women's intramural teams with the 9:35 a.m. games.
The Rams lost to Cornell in the second game of the tourney 55-43.
Johnny Anderson posted 12 points and eight rebounds for WSSU.
In the Rams third game, WSSU defeated Elon 69-43, advancing to play UNC-G.
Timothy Carmichael of the Rams, led all scorers with 19 points, nailing five 3-pointers, and Cameron Ashford contributed 12 points.
Coach Robert Pettis said, "We have a good chance of winning the entire tournament, if we keep up our play and intensity like this. Everyone played great and to their full potential. Hopefully, we can keep it up throughout our tough schedule."
In the fourth contest of the tournament, the Rams found themselves in a dog fight with the UNC-G Spartans.
Down by 7 points at the half, injuries, costly turnovers, missed assignments, and free throws put the Rams in a hole.
In the second half, coach Pettis depended on his bench more than ever because of injured starters Carmichael and Ashford.
Mikkell Terry, Jamaal Bowden and Art Mcillwain all provided sparks on and off the bench, combining for 26 of the teams 30 second half points, ultimately bringing the team back to defeat the Spartans 51-48.
"This is a major win for the team," Pettis said.
"It shows that we have the heart to compete. We bounced back and beat a team that had a better all-around game than us. I believe we can beat anyone."
In the final game of the day, fatigue plagued the Rams, as they faced host NC State University.
NC State's big post presence was too much for the Rams as they fell 59-53 in the Elite Eight.