Jan. 31, 2009
Final Stats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team won their first game of the New Year on Jan. 5 and closed out a tumultuous January with a victory in the final day of the month as the Rams book-ended a six-game losing streak with a 80-66 victory over the Rattlers of Florida A&M University on Saturday evening at the Gaither Gymnasium in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Rams, searching for their first victory in 26 days, took to the road for an 11-hour journey to Tallahassee looking for their third road win of the season and fifth win of the season overall.
A hot first half, a period in which the Rams would outscore the host Rattlers 42-29 gave WSSU exactly what they were searching for as Winston-Salem State improved to 5-14 overall and 3-10 on the road.
The two teams, meeting for only the fourth time in history in what has developed into a heated rivalry, combined for 71 total points in the game's first 20 minutes as the Rams recorded their second-highest single-half scoring performance of the season as WSSU put up 42 points in the period.
WSSU shot a season-high 60.7 percent from the field in the first half as the Rams connected on 17 of 28 field goal attempts to jump on top of the Rattlers early.
Spurred on by an aggressive defense that stymied the Rattlers, WSSU held Florida A&M to only 29 points during the first 20 minutes of play as WSSU enjoyed a 13-point halftime advantage, an advantage that the Rams would never surrender.
Second half action saw the Rams' shooting percentage drop off only marginally as WSSU hit nearly 50 percent (48.3) of their second-half field goals as Winston-Salem State did not allow the Rattlers to pull even in the final 20 minutes of play.
The Rams would start the half on a 6-0 run to increase their lead to a game-high 19 points as WSSU pulled out to their second-largest lead of the 2008-09 season, a lead from which the Rattlers would never fully recover.
Trailing by 19 points, the Rattlers would get as close as two points before watching the Rams close the game on a 12-2 victory that sealed the victory.
Brian Fisher led the Rams with 16 points as he paced three WSSU players in double figures. Jamal Durham chipped in with 15 points and streaky point guard Isiah Tucker tallied 12 points in the victory.
The win improves the Rams to 5-14 overall while the Rattlers fall to 6-13 (4-3 MEAC) with the loss. WSSU's victory marks the first time in series history that the road team has won a game in the series.
WSSU head coach Bobby Collins improves his overall record versus Florida A&M to 7-6 as the Rams tie the all-time series at 2-2 with the victory.
The Rams return to action on Monday Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. as they face the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
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.
