WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Winston-Salem State University fell behind big early and could never get back on even footing, as the Shaw Bears came into the CE Gaines Center and mauled the Rams, 76-60.
With the loss, WSSU falls to 17-5 overall, 9-3 in the CIAA and 3-3 in the Southern Division. The Shaw Bears move to 20-2 overall, 12-0 in the CIAA and 6-0 in the Southern Division.
The game was Winston-Salem State's first home loss this season.
Winston-Salem State also moved into a two-way tie for second place in the Southern Division when Johnson C. Smith lost to Fayetteville State tonight.
Shaw started on fire hot, and the Rams were, well cold. The Bears raced to five points before the Rams managed their first bucket, 3:18 into the contest.
After cutting the Shaw lead to two points at 7-5, The Bears would go on a 16-2 run to take a 23-7 lead with 8:38 in the first half.
That lead would swell to 21 points, 36-15 with 1:56 left before the half. Two WyKevin Bazemore free throws with :33 seconds left, cur the lead to 36-17 at the half.
While WSSU was struggling on the offensive end, the talented Bears took full advantage of the situation and bullied their way into dominating inside. 26 of their 36 points at the half came from within the paint.
In the second, the Rams came out of the locker room hot and highlighted by a Marcus Wells 3-pt shot, a Justin Glover fast break layup and a dunk by Joseph Thompson. The boisterous crowd that had been taken out of the game early, erupted as the Rams quickly trimmed the Shaw lead to ten, but throughout the second half, WSSU could never get any consistency on either end of the court, and could never cut their deficit to fewer than ten points.
With 12:36 left in the game, Justin Glover's fastbreak layup cut the Shaw lead to ten for a second time, but Shaw would answer with a three to again extend the Shaw advantage.
The teams played evenly throughout the rest of the game, with the Rams never getting closer than 12.
Justin Glover led the WSSU Rams with 15 points and four steals, while freshman, WyKevin Bazemore added 14 points and nine rebounds. Joseph Thompson finished with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kimani Hunt chipped five points and six rebounds, while Tyre Desmore had six points and Marcus Wells and Stephon Platt each had three points and five rebounds.
Shaw's Malik Alvin scored a game high 19 points to lead five Bears in double figure scoring. Tony Smith finished with11 points and seven rebounds, while Jarron Johnson, Devon McLendon and Mohammed Abdur-Rahim each had 10 points. McLendon also pulled down 11 rebounds.
WSSU will continue their homestand on Monday night when they host Livingstone College at 7:30 PM in the CE Gaines Center.
