Jan. 17, 2009
Final Stats
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The losing streak is over for the Bison of Howard University. On Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital the Rams of Winston-Salem State University were a part of history as they fell in defeat to the Bison 75-63 at Burr Gymnasium ending the second longest losing streak in Howard history at 14 consecutive games.
The two teams turned in a well-played first half as the Rams and Bison, despite records that indicate recent struggles, combined to hit 25 of their 55 field goal attempts during the games' first 20 minutes.
Winston-Salem State saw six players record points in the half, led by Isiah Tucker and Diontae Gibson who each recorded seven points in the period.
Howard's Kyle Riley led the Bison with 11 points in a first half that saw one lead change and three tie scores as both the Bison and the Rams aggressively tried to erase their multi-game losing streaks.
With a two field goal advantage from behind the three point line, the Bison would close the half with a three-point lead as HU held a slim 37-34 margin headed into the locker room at halftime.
The Bison wasted little time in the game's final 20 minutes as they pushed their lead to as many as 13 points and stayed one step ahead of the Rams' bid for a comeback.
HU answered every WSSU basket with a basket of their own. The Bison, a team that came into the contest hitting just over one quarter of their shots from long range even managed to keep pace with the Rams' potent trio of three-point shooting threats of Jamal Durham, Brian Fisher and Brandon Hobbs.
Staring at a double-digit deficit, the Rams would mount a run reminiscent of their come-from-behind victory from 2007-08, a victory that WSSU snatched from the jaws of defeat by erasing a five-point HU lead in the game's final 27 seconds of play.
On Saturday afternoon however, it would prove more difficult as the Bison, a team starving for a victory and a team that had not won a contest since the season-opener in November, was able to hold on for a gritty 12-point 75-63 victory.
With the victory the Bison improve to 2-14 overall and snap a 14-game losing streak. The Rams fall to 4-11 overall as WSSU has now lost three consecutive games.
Brian Fisher and Paul Davis led the Rams with 15 points each in the loss as they led three WSSU players in double-figures. Diontae Gibson joined Fisher and Davis in double digits 11 points. Davis also added 13 rebounds in the contest as he became the first WSSU player to record 10 or more rebounds in a game this season.
The Rams return to action on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m. as they face the Pirates of Hampton University at the Richmond, Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia in the first game of the 2009 Freedom Classic Festival.
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 WSSURams.com.
