WSSU holds on to beat UNC Pembroke

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - Ninth-ranked Winston-Salem State took UNC Pembroke's best shot Saturday night and survived for a 28-23 victory at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Defensive back Larry Hearne played a key role for the Rams, intercepting two passes and knocking down a Luke Charles pass to the end zone on the game's last play. "I just tried to come out and play hard and do my job," said Hearne, a junior making his first career start.

On the final play, with five seconds left from the Rams' 39, Charles had single coverage on his best receiver, Te'vell Williams, but just underthrew the ball.

"I saw the ball, and I tried to knock it down," Hearne said. "If I would have tried to intercept that, coach (Connell) Maynor would have probably met me out in the field and given it to me, so I knew to just knock it down."

Maynor said: "I told them to back up and knock the ball down and don't try and pick it off. We just told them to be smart and get back there and knock it down, and Larry did that."

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GALLERY: WSSU v. UNC Pembroke

UNCP falls just short at No. 9 Winston-Salem State

WINSTON-SALEM – Visiting UNCP amassed nearly 400 yards of total offense, but ninth-ranked Winston-Salem State tallied a pair of momentum-changing interceptions and stopped a potential game-winning drive to hold off the Braves, 28-23, on Saturday evening at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Junior Te’vell Williams hauled in eight catches for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns to pace the Braves (0-1) who also got 94 rushing yards (17 carries) and a third quarter score from Damonte Terry. Luke Charles threw for 281 yards on 32-of-46 passing with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for the Black & Gold as well.

Maurice Lewis rushed for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27 carries for Winston-Salem State (1-0) who improved to 3-0 all-time against UNC Pembroke. Jamal Williams caught five passes for 103 yards, while Kameron Smith completed 15 of his 22 pass attempts for 190 yards and a second quarter scoring toss.



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