Nov. 14, 2006
Final Stats
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Freshman guard Brian Fisher led all scorers with 14 points as he helped propel the Rams of Winston-Salem State University to a 67-44 win over the Anderson University (SC) Trojans in men's basketball action in front of 3,200 raucous fans at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, NC on Tuesday evening.
The Rams broke a three-game losing streak as they started the contest on a 7-0 run, never trailing in the game, easily cruising to a win over the Trojans.
Winston-Salem State, under the guidance of head coach Bobby Collins who is in his first season at the head of the Rams' program, used a high pressure, trapping defense that forced 28 Trojan turnovers that WSSU converted into 29 points.
The Rams held Anderson to only 28.6% shooting on the evening as the inexperienced Trojans, who started two freshmen, hit only 14 of their 49 shots on the evening.
"We knew exactly what we were going to see tonight. We knew that they had a relatively young team, and so do we, but we prepared a system to try to take advantage of their youth, absolutely we did. I usually let the guys play on offense a bit as long as they work hard on defense. We stress that defensive intensity, and it showed tonight, and paid dividends for us" Collins said in post game interviews.
The Rams led by 15 points at the half as they held a 29-15 advantage after 20 minutes of play, despite only shooting 35.5% in the half.
However, second-half action saw the Rams exploit their systematic inside-out game en route to dominating the remainder of the game en route to the 23-point win.
"I don't know what it is, but it took us a bit to get our inside post game going. We stress the two-for-one principle. We want to get the ball inside twice before we shoot from the outside. We got that going in the second half and in turn we generated lay-ups and got to the free throw line. That really cemented things for us" Collins said.
Fisher led all scorers with 14 points as he hit six of his 13 field goal attempts, including a 33% night from behind the three-point arch. He was joined by Jamal Durham who tallied 13 points and four rebounds in the win as ten Rams recorded points in the contest.
The win improves the Rams to 1-3 overall and improves Bobby Collins' record to 1-3 at WSSU, giving him his first win as the Rams' head coach. Collins now sports an overall record of 66-60 as a Division I head coach in his fifth season.
The Rams return to action on Friday, November 14, 2006 at 7:00 pm as they take on the Auburn University Tigers from Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, AL.
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.
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