Winston-Salem State's losing streak has reached 10 in the CIAA after a 71-70 loss to Bowie State at the Gaines Center on Monday night.
Warren Mouganda made a 3-pointer with seven seconds left as the Bulldogs took the lead for good.
The Rams had a chance but Masaun Moore-Bryant missed a driving layup at the buzzer. Going the length of the floor Moore-Bryant went all the way to the basket but just missed his layup from the left side on the final shot of the game.
The Rams fell to 2-17 overall and 0-10 in the CIAA while the Bulldogs improved to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in the CIAA.
Down the stretch the Rams missed several free throws and for the game they were 17 of 26.
Coach Corey Thompson told Ken Winfrey on WSSU's radio network it's about learning how to close games.
"We had 19 turnovers and we had a chance down the stretch but hats off to them and they battled all the way to end," Thompson said. "We have to learn how to close these games out. We're getting closer but that's not good enough."
Mouganda led the way for the Bulldogs with 21 points and Victory Naboya and Justin Morrisey had nine points each.
Micah Jones led the way for the Rams with 18 points with Tyre Boykin adding 15 and Wesley Tubbs had nine.
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J'vonni Roblejo scored three baskets in a row for the Rams to stake them to a 61-56 lead with 4:42 to play. On his third basket he hit a short jumper.
The Rams, however, couldn't hold the lead and after a missed free throw from Abou Camara late in the game Mouganda hit the deciding 3-pointer on the left baseline for a 71-70 lead.
Camera helped the Rams dominate in rebounding with 20 rebounds and Boykin had eight. The Rams enjoyed a 42-26 edge in rebounding.
"I thought we played much better and under control in the first half," Thompson said about leading by 10 points. "We are going to have to play with leads and I told the guys at halftime it's about winning the game and not just the first half."
The Rams fell behind 9-0 three minutes into the game as the Bulldogs hit four of their first six shots. The quick deficit forced Thompson to call a timeout.
"We just have to learn how to execute down the stretch," Thompson said. "These guys are resilient so we just have to come back again on Wednesday."
The Rams battled back after the slow start and cut the lead to 15-13 midway through the first half.
Camara followed up his own miss with nine minutes to go in the half with a layup as the Rams took their first lead at 18-17.
The Rams had a 10-point lead in the first half but the Bulldogs cut the margin to 38-33 by halftime. Helping the Rams in the first half was going 4 for 4 on 3-point attempts.
The Rams will return to the Gaines Center on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game against Bluefield State. The WSSU women also play Bluefield State at 5:30 p.m.
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