WOOTEN DYNAMIC, STATESMEN FEND OFF WAKE TECH, 92-89

PETERSBURG, Va., (Dec. 13, 2005) – It's no secret that the defending NJCAA Division II National Champion Richard Bland College men's basketball team will get its opponents best effort every game, and Sunday's comfortable-lead-turned-barnburner against visiting Wake Technical Community College fit the bill perfectly.

The Statesmen held an 18-point lead with 7:07 remaining but had to fight off a determined Eagles team in the final three minutes to register a 92-89 victory in Region X Conference play at Statesman Hall.

Down 90-81 with 29 seconds remaining, Wake Tech made a valiant effort to sneak out an upset victory, drawing within 92-89 with two seconds remaining following a 35-foot 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kenneth Collins. There wasn't enough time remaining for the Eagles, however as RBC was able to run out the clock.

A second straight victory lifts Richard Bland to 7-6, 3-2, while Wake drops to 2-8, 0-3. The Statesmen will play their third straight home game – and final tilt of the first semester – on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. against CCBC Catonsville. Wake next travels to Bryant & Stratton for a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 20.

Richard Bland, which was playing its second straight game after defeating Guilford Tech 76-60 on Saturday, spread out its 200 minutes through 11 players, but got the biggest performance from freshman center Jaquan Wooten (Goldsboro, NC/South Lenoir), who had 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half, along with 13 rebounds and two blocks.

The game featured seven ties and 14 lead changes, but none of them occurred in the second half. For a second straight game, the contest was tight in the first half, with RBC holding a 39-32 lead at intermission, but matters changed dramatically in the second 20 minutes.

The Statesmen opened the second half on a 10-6 run to build a 49-38 lead following a spinning layup by Wooten. Leading 59-47 at the 11-minute mark, RBC went on a quick 6-0 spurt, highlighted by a dunk from sophomore forward Troy Gibson (Newport News, VA/Heritage) and a layup from fellow sophomore Devin Smith (Baltimore, MD/Randallstown) to surge ahead 63-47. Wooten, Smith and freshman guard Myles Markland (Chesterfield, VA/Motoaca) kept RBC in full offensive throttle which led to a 73-55 lead with 7:07 to play.

Wake Tech clawed its way back into the game, going on a 15-7 run to get within 80-70 with three minutes to play. With 23 seconds remaining, Wake guard Kenneth Collins was fouled on a 3-point attempt and connected on all three shots to bring the Eagles within 90-84. The Statesmen were able to fend on the late Wake rally with their final points coming off free throws, although the Age 3-pointer with four seconds left made the game interesting.

"The effort was definitely there for us today," said Richard Bland head coach Chuck Moore. "We shared a lot of minutes today because of the back to back games, which I think caused us to go into a lull after we built up the big lead. The bottom line is that teams are going to play hard against us every game."

Wooten's 19-point performance was augmented by 16 points from Markland (11 from the free throw line) and aggressive play from freshman Jordan Griggs (Woodbridge, VA/Christ Chapel Academy), who scored all of his 15 points in the second half.

Sophomore forward Derondell Jenkins led Wake TECH with 21 points  and eight rebounds. Collins added 19 points.