Wake's inside presence too much for WSSU

Winston-Salem State played hard, but cold shooting in the second half and Wake Forest's depth helped the Deacons defeat the Rams 87-71 in the Twin City Classic on Feb. 6.

Senior Kyle Visser led the way for the Deacons (11­-12) with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Jamie Skeen added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Wake. In all, six players scored in double figures for the Demon-Deacons.

WSSU's Brian Fisher scored a game-high 25 points for the Rams, going 6-10 from the three-point stripe, and adding nine rebounds. He scored 18 in the first half as the Rams hit 7-14 three pointers and were down 44-38 going into halftime. The Rams went cold from the field and the three-point line in the second half, shooting a mere 28 percent from the floor and only 21 percent from behind the arc. The Deacons took advantage of WSSU's miscues and led by as many as 20 points in the second half.

"We live and die by our three pointer's," said Rams head coach Bobby Collins after the game. "We have to depend on our jump shooters. We forced a lot of shots, but we hit a lot also. Early on, it looked, as the Rams were about to hand the Deacons an easy victory as Anthony Gurely's three-pointer put Wake Forest ahead 23-9 with 11:08 left in the first half. WSSU then went on an 11-0 run, closing the lead to just three points on Darrell Wonge's three-pointer with 7:30 remaining. The Rams would get no closer as Wake outscored them 21-18 in the remainder of the first half, giving them a six-point lead heading into the half.

Things only got worse for the Rams in the second half. Fisher, who was 7 for 10 from the field in the first half, was held to seven points, hitting only two of his 12 attempts in the second half. The only other player for WSSU to score in double figures was Wonge, who scored 17 points, but all but four of his points came in the first half. Darius Floyd, the Rams leading scorer, finished with eight points. "We left it all on the floor," Collins said. "Wake Forest was much bigger and used their size advantage to help get some easy buckets."

The Rams got into foul trouble early in the second half, giving Wake the benefit of being in the penalty for much of the first half. Wake hit 28 of 40 free-throw attempts, compared to the Rams 12 makes on only 17 attempts. Wake's bench doubled their counterparts 30-15. Wake also got a big lift from Gurley, as the freshman went 4-5, 3-4 from beyond the arc, to add 11 points.

"I take my hat off to them, and what they've been through this season," Skip Prosser told reporters. This was the first time the two teams had met in a regular season game. The past two seasons, Wake Forest defeated the then-Division II Rams 89-61 in 2004, and 88-84 in 2005. Attendance for the game listed as approximately 8,600, a relatively low figure considering the fact that only seven miles separate the schools.

"I'm a big believer in this game, I'm surprised that it hasn't grown more," Prosser said. "I think it could be great for our city."

The loss dropped WSSU's record to 4­-21 on the season. Collins acknowledged that all the losing and the traveling have been tough. Despite that fact, he says his team isn't sulking because of their record.

"It's hard because no one on this team is a loser. I came from a winning program and last year these guys had a winning season," he said. Collins also commented that the team is maintaining a positive outlook.

"Even though our record is 4­-21, this team's spirit is just as high as if we were 21-4."