Winston-Salem State's late rally wasn't enough in a 90-80 loss to the University of Fort Lauderdale on Saturday morning in the US Virgin Islands Basketball Classic at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.
The Rams battled back from a nine-point deficit at halftime to lead 72-71 with seven minutes to go but the Eagles took back the lead and never trailed again.
The Rams fell to 0-2 in the tournament after losing on Friday to Tuskegee and overall fell to 1-6 on the season. The Eagles, who beat Shaw on Friday in the opening round of the tournament, improved to 7-3.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Eagles led by Benez Woodward's 20 points. Da'Shaun Stigler added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Chris Berry and Jimel Cofer had 11 points each. DeAndre Pembertan had 13 points as the Eagles shot 50% from the field.
Micah Jones led the Rams with 20 points and was 9 of 9 on free-throw attempts. Wesley Tubbs had 18 points and Tyre Boykin chipped in with 12 points and four rebounds. Lorenzo Caldwell had nine points and 12 rebounds and Jaiden Thompson also had 12 rebounds to help the Rams.
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The Rams shot 42% from the field and had 21 turnovers.
With 3:31 left the Eagles led 80-72 at the final media timeout. With 2:38 left the Eagles led 83-74 and then hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
The Rams trailed 48-39 at halftime and trailed most of the half after falling behind 9-4 five minutes into the game.
With four minutes left in the half the Rams trailed by 13 but put up a fight to cut the margin to nine by the break.
After playing in the warm weather of the Virgin Islands the Rams will head up north to play this week in the Chris Paul HBCU Tip-off Challenge in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Rams will play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against Kentucky State, then play again on Friday to wrap up nonconference play for this season.
The Rams will open conference play at Elizabeth City State on Jan. 4 with a 4 p.m. game.
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