Nov. 19, 2006

Final Stats

ATLANTA, GA - Despite 42 points from freshmen and four players in double-figures, the Rams could not overcome a tough Georgia State University Panther team on the road in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday afternoon as they fell in defeat by the score of 94-87 at the Georgia State University Sports Arena.

The Rams, playing in their fifth road game in a nine-day span, played full-court basketball will the Panthers for the entirety of the contest as the two teams combined for 181 points and took a total of 129 shots in an exciting end-to-end men's basketball game between two young, athletic programs.

The Rams and Panthers traded leads six times during the first half of play as the two teams tried to gain control of the swaying momentum.  The Rams were sparked by a pair of freshmen during the game's first 20 minutes as Darius Floyd and Brian Fisher combined for 20 of the Rams' 42 points in the half.  Fisher recorded seven points in the half while Floyd, who came off of the bench to play 11 minutes, turned in his best performance of the young season.

Checking into the game in a relief role, Floyd hit five consecutive shots, including a trio of three-pointers as he recorded 13 points in just over four minutes of play to put the Rams ahead by as many as 10 points with 1:29 to go in the half.

The Rams led the home-team Panthers by five points at the halftime intermission as WSSU found themselves ahead at the break for only the second time in six games.

Georgia State used a second half of play in which they shot 62% from the field, hitting 16 of their 26 field goal attempts, to open up their largest lead of the game, a seven-point margin, a lead which they would never relinquish, en route to the 94-87 win.

Winston-Salem State cut the lead to as little as three points with under two minutes to play in a bid to steal back a victory from the Panthers but solid Georgia State University shooting from the free-throw line iced the game and preserved the Panther's first win of the 2006-07 season.

WSSU was led by Brian Fisher's career-high 22 points as he paced four Ram players in double figures.  He was joined in double-digits by Darius Floyd (20 points), Rpy Peake (13 points), and David Moore (10 points).

The Panthers were led by Rashad Chase's game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.  The double-double marks the fourth game this season that the Rams have allowed a double-double performer.  WSSU has lost all four of those contests.

Chase was joined by Trae Goldston's 22 points, Leonard Mendez's 19 points and Lance Perique's 17 points in the win.

The loss drops the Rams to 1-5 on the season and runs WSSU's streak of losses to two games.  The Panthers break a two-game skid of their own with the win and improve to 1-2 overall.

WSSU returns to action on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 when they travel to Baltimore, MD to face the Eagles of Coppin State University.  Tip-off from the Coppin Center is slated for 7:30 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 -