Nov. 19, 2007

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University lost the game Monday night against Wake Forest University, 75-58, but the Eagles, in their first year of Division I play, claimed a moral victory by out-scoring the ACC's Demon Deacons in the second half.

It was the closest outcome for the transitioning Eagles, who have played teams from the ACC (Duke, Wake Forest), SEC (Florida) and Big East (Rutgers), and the first time they have won a half this season.

"For us, a moral victory is what we need at this point," said NCCU head coach Henry Dickerson, whose team had lost four road games by an average of 49.3 points entering Monday's contest inside the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. "I am proud of our guys as hard as we played tonight."

NCCU (0-5) was within two points at 8-6 after a three-pointer by junior guard Bryan Ayala at 16:53, but Wake Forest (2-0) scored 11 unanswered points during a three-minute span, capped by a triple by junior guard Harvey Hale, to expand the lead to 19-6.

The visitors managed to trim the deficit to 10 points twice in the first half, last on a three-point basket by sophomore forward Joshua Worthy with 6:31 left to make the score 28-18.

The Demon Deacons, however, ended the half on an 18-5 run, including a buzzer-beating baseline jumper by freshman guard Jeff Teague, to give WFU its largest cushion of the first half, 46-23, at the break.

After scoring the final nine points of the first half, Wake Forest tallied the first four points after intermission, courtesy of back-to-back dunks by sophomore guard L.D. Williams, for the biggest lead of the night, 50-23 at 19:05.

NCCU responded with a 19-8 run to pull to within 16 points at 58-42 with 10:57 left, following a jumper by senior forward Charles Futrell. The Eagles remained competitive the rest of the contest, managing to out-score the host team 35-29 in the second half, including a 35-25 advantage in the final 19 minutes of play.

Worthy sparked NCCU with game-highs of 16 points and seven rebounds, which are also both career-highs for the sophomore. Futrell added 14 points, five boards and two steals for the Eagles, while Ayala contributed 11 points, five assists and three steals.

Wake Forest was paced by Williams with a team-best 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Jamie Skeen scored 13 points for the Deacons, while freshman forward James Johnson had 12 points.

Although pleased with his team's effort and overall play, Dickerson did point out that his Eagles committed a season-high 27 turnovers and shot a season-low 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from the charity stripe.

After five road outings in the past 11 days, NCCU hosts its first Division I home game on Wednesday (Nov. 21) at 7:30 p.m. against Tennessee Tech in the final contest of the Blue Ribbon Challenge.

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THE HERALD-SUN:

Eagles gain respect in loss to Wake

By MIKE POTTER : mpotter@heraldsun.com; 419-6604

Nov 20, 2007 : 12:38 am ET

WINSTON-SALEM -- Wake Forest didn't surprise many people with a comfortable victory over N.C. Central on Monday night.

L.D. Williams' 14 points led three Deacons in double figures in a 75-58 win at Joel Coliseum in the schools' first meeting in men's basketball.

But after it was over, the Eagles (0-5) were in a pretty happy mood.

In its first season in NCAA Division I, the 17-point margin of defeat was the closest NCCU had come to beating anybody.

And after they had taken the whipping of a lifetime in a 104-51 loss at North Dakota State two nights earlier, the Eagles showed they could bounce back and play some respectable basketball.

Jamie Skeen had 13 points and James Johnson 12 for the Demon Deacons (2-0), who had beaten Fairfield 85-60 points the last time they played 10 days earlier.

Joshua Worthy led the Eagles with a career-high 16 points, combining with Charles Futrell (14 points) and Bryan Ayala (11) to give NCCU three players in double figures for the first time this season.

"We played an ACC school -- a big, strong, physical team -- and we're in transition and have been on the road," NCCU coach Henry Dickerson said. "We played Duke first and had a lot of jitters. We played Rutgers -- for us, OK. Then we played all right at Florida. But the only way I'm going back to North Dakota is to smack a buffalo on his nose.

"I thought our kids played hard and did some good things. We need to get moral victories, and we can get them if we continue to play hard and execute."

The Eagles even won the second half, outscoring the Deacons 35-29.

"My teammates showed a lot of confidence in me tonight," Worthy said. "They said I was going to be open and just had to knock it down. We had to show a lot of pride tonight. We're back in North Carolina now."

Wake shot 46.3 percent from the floor to a season-high 42.9 for the Eagles, out-rebounding NCCU 41-33 and committing 17 turnovers to the Eagles' 27. Both teams were cold from the free-throw line, with NCCU going 9-of-21 and Wake 9-of-17.

The Deacons led 46-23 at halftime behind 11 points from Skeen. Ayala and Worthy each had seven points at the break.

"I really think it was two different games," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "I thought in the first half, despite not playing great, we're up 46-23, we're doing a very good job on the defensive end of the floor. ... In the second half, we scored 0.66 points per possession, they go 0.85 and that can't happen.

"We give North Carolina Central a lot of credit having gone from -- and I'll get it wrong -- from Duke to Rutgers to Florida to North Dakota State. Then they come in here, and I said, 'God bless them fellows.' "

Wake shot 46.3 percent from the floor in the first half to 32.0 for the Eagles. The most lopsided number was in turnover margin, as NCCU kicked the ball away 17 times in the first half to five for the Deacons.

The opening minutes were close, with Ayala's 3-pointer at 16:52 cutting Wake's early lead to 8-6. The Deacons responded with an 11-0 run, ending in a 3-pointer from Harvey Hale at 13:48.

"That was the best game of Josh's career -- for now," said Ayala, who has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. "We talked at halftime about playing better in the second half. We didn't want to lose another game by 50 points."

NCCU sliced the lead to 28-18 on a Worthy 3-pointer with 6:32 left in the first half, but the Deacons ran off the final nine points of the period.

"Wake Forest is a good ACC basketball team," said Futrell, who has been in double figures in every game. "If we can play with a team like that, we should be able to play with anybody on our schedule. Now we've got to hurry up and get ready for Tennessee Tech."

NOTES -- The Eagles' next game is their home opener Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Tennessee Tech in the final game of the Blue Ribbon Challenge. ... The Deacons host cross-town rival Winston-Salem State on Friday at 7 p.m.