Jan. 18, 2007
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NORFOLK, VA - History was made at Echols Hall in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday evening as WSSU head men's basketball coach Bobby Collins led his Rams to an 81-71 victory over the Spartans of Norfolk State University as Winston-Salem State earned their first victory over a Division I opponent in the history of WSSU's Division I membership.
The Rams, in their first season as a full-fledged Division I program following an NCAA exploratory season in 2005-06, came into Echols Hall on the campus of Norfolk State University and led for nearly 38 minutes en route to a convincing 10-point victory over a talented, and senior-laden, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference-leading, Norfolk State University men's basketball team.
Norfolk State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on a pair of mid-range jump shots before the Rams' offense awoke and mounted a 14-2 run to pull ahead by eight points as WSSU opened up a lead that they would never relinquish.
WSSU pushed their first-half lead to as many as 16 points during a half in which the Rams hit eight three-point field goals.
Norfolk State, a team that came into the contest sporting a 5-1 record versus Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams, mounted a run late in the half that cut the Rams' lead to only a single point at 36-35 headed into the locker room at halftime.
The Rams burst out of the locker room with a renewed sense of purpose following the intermission as WSSU increased a one-point lead to a game-high 20 points with a 24-4 run that encompassed the first 7:29 of the second half.
NSU cut that lead to as few as six points late in the game before WSSU free throws preserved the victory as the Rams netted their first Division I win over a Division I opponent.
The win moves the Rams to 3-18 on the season and drops the Spartans to 5-11 on the year. The victory is WSSU's second consecutive win of the season as the Rams' open up their longest win streak of the season.
Leading the way for the Rams was Brian Fisher who tallied a team-high 20 points as he was one of three WSSU players in double-figures in the contest. Darrell Wonge and Jamal Durham recorded 16 and 15 points respectively. WSSU hit a season-high 15 three-point field goals and took a season-high 31 threes in the games, surpassing season marks for made three's (11 at Akron) and three-pointers attempted (30 at Georgia State).
WSSU head coach Bobby Collins, who improves to 6-5 all-time versus Norfolk State University, and who has won two straight games over the Spartans including last season's second round MEAC tournament contest victory versus NSU (while head coach at Hampton) was proud of the Rams' intensity in the contest as he commented:
"We just wanted to get this win. It is very rewarding, to come back to the Hampton Roads area and win in front of family and friends. I think that this is the most points we have scored all season and this is indicative of the fact that we played hard. We played for 40 minutes tonight and showed confidence, and that helped us in this victory. Anytime you go anywhere and get a win it's big, but doing it in this area, it is icing on the cake. This [Norfolk State] is a very good MEAC team, and it's just great to get this win. I don't know if they expected us to shoot the ball as well as we did, but our intensity was high and it propelled us to the win."
The Rams return to action on Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 7:00 pm when they play host to the Bison of North Dakota State University at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, NC. 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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