Jan. 13, 2011

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Winston-Salem State Rams (9-2, 3-1 CIAA) fought off a tenacious Chowan Hawks (1-10, 0-3 CIAA) for a hard-fought 65-62 victory, Thursday evening. Though the Rams looked much stronger on paper, the win was anything but easy for the Rams as team had to battle back from a 13-point second half deficit to pick up the home court win.

"We were down 13 and I was impressed with our team and how we fought and made plays when we had to," Collins said. "We need to do a better job of knocking down free throws and right now, our defense isn't there. We need to defend better and we can't just have Paul (Davis) back there blocking shots we need more from the other guys."

The Rams gave a solid overall performance in the game, shooting 41.3% from the field and forcing 19 turnovers, but the team had to make some clutch defensive performances against a scorching hot Chowan team that shot 48.1% from the field. The senior tandem of forward Paul Davis and guard Shelton Carter powered the Rams to the win, combing for 35 points and 19 rebounds in the game. Both players had great performances with Carter scoring 19 points with seven rebounds while Davis added a double-double 16 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Fellow senior forward McIntoche Alcius added another great night with some of the key plays for the team. He finished the night with nine points and 11 rebounds as well.

The game was a tough battle from the very beginning with neither team managing to pull away early. The first half featured nine ties and eight lead changes as neither the Rams nor the Hawks managed to go ahead by more than five points. It was the tough Chowan defense that kept the game close throughout the half with the Hawks forcing 14 first half turnovers by the Rams. After falling into a 14-9 deficit with 14:15 left the play, the Rams worked their way back into the game, chipping into the Chowan lead and finally taking a lead of their own when sophomore guard Marcus Wells hit a lay-up at the 6:53 mark to give the Rams a 24-22 lead. As the battle continued down the stretch of the half, the Rams were forced to take a 32-29 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

The WSSU struggles continued in the second half as a scorching hot start by the Hawks left the Rams trailing 46-33 with 16:45 left to play. It was then that the Rams made their stand, running off a 16-2 run that put the Rams back in control of the game, 49-48 with 11:13 left to play. The Rams would continue their push, taking a 59-51 lead over the Hawks with 6:27 left play. The Rams had to fight tooth and nail to hold on the lead as the Hawks whittled the WSSU lead down to three points, 65-62 with just under a minute to play. In the end, the Rams' defense and rebounding proved to be too much as the team pulled out the win.

The Rams will remain home for their next game as the team hosts the Elizabeth City State Vikings, Saturday at the C.E. Gaines Center on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. For more information on Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com