Jan. 30, 2010
Final Stats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team, despite having three players in double-figures in scoring fell on the road to the Rattlers of Florida A&M by the score of 75-69 on Saturday evening in Tallahassee, Fla. as an early FAMU offensive outburst would ultimately spell doom for the Rams.
The Rams would find themselves in a double-digit deficit early in the contest as Florida A&M started the game on a 10-0 run just over four minutes into the contest.
WSSU was assessed a technical foul prior to the game for dunking during warm-ups and the Rattlers followed a made free throw with a layup, a made three-point field goal and a mid-range jump shot as they opened up a 10-point advantage before the Rams could get on the scoreboard.
The Rams would get only three field goals during the first 10-plus minutes of the opening period as a Lamar Monger jumper and a pair of Stephon Platt layups accounted for WSSU's first six points of the game.
The Rattlers, on the backs of 16 points courtesy of 12 Winston-Salem State turnovers, would hold what would look to be an insurmountable 18-point advantage after 20 minutes of play as the Rams found themselves trailing 40-22 heading into the locker room at the intermission.
Despite finding themselves trailing by nearly two-dozen points the Rams' resolve would not falter as WSSU would continue to chip away at the Rattler lead, eventually trimming FAMU's lead to single digits on Paul Davis' team-leading 26th dunk of the season with 8:54 to play in the contest.
Davis' dunk would get the Rams back into the contest with the score 58-49 as Winston-Salem State capped an offensive outburst that turned the momentum inside of the Rattlers' newly-opened Multipurpose Teaching Gymnasium.
The Rams would cut the Rattler lead to as little as five points on three occasions during the final 10 minutes of the game as Shelton Carter, Brian Fisher and Stephon Platt would all use field goals to give WSSU the chance to pull out the come-from-behind road victory.
WSSU's comeback would fall just short as Florida A&M used late-game free throws to keep the upstart Rams at bay as WSSU's bid for their eighth win of the season came up short.
The Rams were led by Paul Davis' 18 points as he led WSSU in scoring for the seventh time in the last eight games. Joining Davis in double-digits were Shelton Carter who recorded 17 points and Brian Fisher who added 16 points in the loss.
The defeat drops Winston-Salem State to 7-11 on the season and evens WSSU's record versus MEAC opponents to 4-4 overall.
The Rams return to action on Monday, Feb. 1 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. as they take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman at 7:30 p.m.
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 Atheltics at WSSURams.com.
