Nov. 27, 2007
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WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The young Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team could not hold onto a 10-point lead on Tuesday evening at the Joel Coliseum as they dropped a 74-64 non-conference decision to the Bulldogs of Fresno State University.
WSSU head coach Bobby Collins, who hinted at a lineup shakeup following the Rams' loss to Wake Forest last Friday evening, made good on his promise as he inserted backup center Greg Lewis and sixth-man Darius Floyd into the starting lineup in place of forwards Jamal Durham and Paul Davis as Collins made the first starting lineup change in five contests.
Floyd wasted no time in making his presence felt as he scored the first five points of the contest as WSSU jumped out to an early lead helping to ensure the Rams never trailed during first-half action.
The Rams would increase their lead to as many as 10 points with 5:14 remaining in the first half before a late Bulldog run cut WSSU's lead to a more manageable five points at the halftime intermission at 32-27 in favor of the Rams.
The second half belonged to the Bulldogs as they came out of the locker room and hit five of their first seven three-point field goals as they claimed their first lead of the game at the 13:46 mark of the second half.
The Bulldogs would increase their lead to as many as the final margin of 10 points as Eddie Miller hit a game-high seven three-point field goals en route to shooting 70 percent from three-point range as he tallied a game-high 25 points.
WSSU's Brian Fisher valiantly attempted to keep the Rams in the hunt for the win as he scored the Rams' final eight points of the game in a losing effort.
Five days on the road for Fresno State, and their only trip to the East Coast in 2007-08 did not seem to hurt the Bulldogs as they held built their lead to as many as 10 points and earned their fourth win of the season.
"I told you guys that we would make a lineup change, and we did. Darius [Floyd] and Greg [Lewis] really gave us a lift with their energy tonight. It was night and day the way we played today versus Friday night. We really played well tonight and we played hard and this is a very good Fresno State team who got hot in the second half and that hurt us" head coach Bobby Collins said in post game interviews.
Leading the way for the Rams was Darius Floyd who recorded a team-high 15 points in the loss as he was one of four WSSU players in double-figures.
Eddie Miller led the Bulldogs with 25 points as he led three Fresno State players in double figures.
The win improves the Bulldogs to 4-3 overall while WSSU falls to 1-4 with the loss.
Winston-Salem State returns to action on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 7:30 pm at the LJVM Annex when they open MEAC play versus the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University.
For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com.
