Nov. 10, 2007
AMES, Iowa - Darrell Wonge scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and Brian Fisher added another 11 points as Winston-Salem State pulled within five with less than three minutes to play, but it was not enough as Iowa State topped the Rams, 58-44, in both team's season opener Friday night in Hilton Coliseum.
Freshman Paul Davis pulled down eight rebounds in his collegiate debut, while Wonge and Fisher combined for 10 rebounds. Junior Jamal Durham added seven points and four rebounds.
Winston-Salem State (0-1) took an early lead, 6-2, after Michael Puckett's only three-pointer of the night and held a 13-12 lead at the 9:53 mark behind a pair of deep treys from Wonge.
Iowa State (1-0) struggled to find their rhythm in the early going, committing five quick turnovers and four fouls and after almost three minutes without a bucket from either team, the Cyclones quickly turned their offensive struggles around. The Cyclones closed the first half on a 12-3 run for a 28-21 lead at the break.
Fisher shot two treys in the opening minutes of the second half, as WSSU cut Iowa State's lead to three, 30-27, and the Rams pulled within one, 32-31 at the 13:24 mark, after back-to-back baskets by Puckett and Durham. But the Cyclones responded by going on a 9-0 run to lead by 10 at the 9:40 mark.
The Rams, however, would not go away as they climbed back to within five, 47-42, behind a pair of three-pointers from Wonge with less than three minutes to play. The Cyclones then rallied with a 11-2 run to close out the game.
WSSU shot 37.0 percent from beyond the arc on 10-of-27 shooting, including a 45.5 percent in the second half compared to Iowa State which went 0-12 on three-pointers for the game. Iowa State shot 41.1 (23-of-56) percent from the field which gave the squad the slight edge as Winston-Salem State was held to 25.4 percent from the field.
The Rams will face Lipscomb at 5:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Lipscomb fell to Centenary, 72-69, in the opening game of the tournament.
