Eagles fly past Rams

Winston-Salem State coach Bobby Collins had a premonition about Saturday's game against North Carolina Central.

Collins said that he'd been at the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference since games began on Tuesday, and he'd taken note of how many games had come down to the wire.

"I asked myself, 'how would I do in that situation," Collins said. " Or what would I do in that situation, who would I go to? "

It turns out Collins was right about the manner in which the game would end, although he probably envisioned the result a little differently.NCCU defeated WSSU 60-58 in the bonus game of the MEAC Tournament in Raleigh's RBC Center. NCCU's Brian Futrell stole an outlet pass and hit two free-throws to seal the game.

Futrell's free-throws put the finishing touches on a 28 point, seven rebound performance as the senior helped NCCU to just its' fourth win of the season in the final game of his career.

After the game, Futrell said that he was more concerned with beating the Rams than he was about the fact that it was his final game as an Eagle.

"I told our guys we want to keep him around his average, 16 or 17 points, but you see he got 28. We didn't contain him or stop him," Collins said.

Both teams ended the game in a rut offensively, as NCCU scored the game's last field goal on a 3-pointer by Brian Ayala to take a 56-52 lead with 6:12.

"I told my team that we have to make plays. Players make plays this time of year, and we didn't make plays.

The Rams managed to tie the game at 56 with about four minutes remaining, but that was as close as they would get. The Eagles gave them several chances to tie or take the lead by missing free-throws down the stretch, but the Rams were unable to take advantage and Futrell's steal and subsequent free-throws sealed the deal.

"That's my worst nightmare," Collins said. "Not being able to execute.

The end of the game was a sharp contrast to how the Rams started off in the first half. The Rams jumped out to a 20-6 lead and the Eagles appeared to be headed for another loss in a season full of them. The Eagles managed to close the gap quickly, finishing the half on a 25-11 run and the teams headed into the half tied at 31 points. Futrell led all scorers with 15 points in the first half.

The game remained tight the rest of the game, and the stats reflect it. The difference proved to be points off turnovers. NCCU turned 16 WSSU turnovers into 22 points, while WSSU managed only 13 points off of 13 NCCU turnovers.

For three WSSU players, including starters Roy Peake and Darrell Wonge. Wonge scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. He was the only WSSU player in double figures.

After the game, Wonge got emotional when he realized he had played his final game as a Ram.

"It didn't, hit me until the final buzzer sounded," Wonge said. "The whole time, I thought we were gonna win the game."