Nov. 15, 2005

Final Stats

Hickory, NC - The Rams of Winston-Salem State University could not escape hostile Shuford Gymnasium on Tuesday evening as they fell in defeat 64-61 to the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne College in non-conference men's basketball action from Hickory, NC.

The Rams, starting their season off on the road for the third consecutive year, fell behind early as Lenoir-Rhyne hit their first three shots to jump out to an early 7-0 lead, a lead from which the visiting Rams would never recover.

To the Rams' credit, Winston-Salem State used solid defense to fight their way back into the contest midway through the first half as they trimmed the Bears' lead to as little as one point six times during the first half, yet were never able to take a lead of their own.

The Bears, the beneficiaries of 11 points off of turnovers in the first half, would close the first 20 minutes of play clinging to a four-point lead, ahead of the Rams 36-32.

The second half started in nearly the same manner as the first as the Bears mounted an 8-3 run to start the period, increasing their lead to a game-high 11 points at 46-35 with 15:03 remaining in the contest.

Philip Stitt's Rams would again cut the lead to as few as one point on two occasions, one of which saw WSSU trailing 62-61 with 77 seconds to play.

However, the Rams were their own worst enemy as they allowed the Bears to shoot 64.3% from the field as LRC buried 27 of their 42 field goal attempts, most coming in the form of layups or interior jump shots. 

The porous Ram defense proved to be the deciding factor in the contest as WSSU was never able to catch the Bears, ultimately falling in defeat 65-61.

WSSU was paced by Corey Parker who tallied 17 points on seven of eight shooting from the field.  He was joined in double figures by Alleggrie Guinn who chipped in with 14 points in the loss.

LRC was led by Reggie Bratton who recorded 17 points in the victory.

WSSU drops to 0-1 overall (0-0 CIAA) on the season while LRC improves to 1-0 overall.  The Rams return to action on Thursday, November 17, 2005 as they travel to Wingate, NC to face Wingate University at 7:00 pm.

For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com

- wssurams.com -