RALEIGH, NC – Winston-Salem State started quickly but could not maintain the momentum, as St. Augustine's would ride the hot shooting of Anthony Gaskins to sail past the Rams 86-71 on Harvey D. Heartley, Sr. Court at Emery Gymnasium on Monday.

Winston-Salem State drops to 13-8 overall, 6-6 in the CIAA and 4-2 in the Southern Division. St. Augustine's improves to 10-12 overall, 4-8 in the CIAA and 3-3 in the Southern Division.

WSSU looked solid early, behind a quick start from WyKevin Bazemore, Kerry Campbell and CJ Ford, and jumped to the early 9-5 lead by the first media timeout.

The Falcons would answer back with a 15-2 run to take a 20-11 lead, until a Terrell Leach three pointer would tie the game at 30-30 with a minute and half left in the first half.

St. Augustine's would keep the Rams at bay, and take a 33-31 lead into halftime.

The Falcons started the second half hot, and quickly extended their lead to double digits, by the hot shooting Anthony Gaskins, who would score 27 points in the second half to help the Falcons break away from a 33-31 halftime lead.

WSSU would not find any rhythm, and St. Augustine's would continue to apply the pressure and by the midway point of the second half, had boosted their lead to 20 points, at 62-42.

With 6:35 remaining, the Falcons would have their biggest lead of the night at 71-47, before the WSSU Rams would make one final push to get back into the game. 

Winston-Salem State would use a big 17-4 run, sparked by baskets from Terrell Leach, CJ Ford and a dunk from Nate Long, and trimmed the lead to just 11 points at 75-64 with 1:54 left to play.

The Rams would get no closer and the Falcons would go on to a 86-71 win.

The Rams were led in scoring by WyKevin Bazemore and CJ Ford, who each finished with 17 points. Bazemore added eight rebounds, and Ford added three rebounds and an assist. Donta Harper and Terrell Leach each scored 10 points, with Harper adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Leach added two rebounds and an assist.

St. Augustine's was in scoring by Anthony Gaskins who poured in a career-high 35 points, to go with five rebounds and three steals. Quincy January added 15 points, nine rebounds, two assist and a steal, while Raheem Jolliffe scored 14 points and four rebounds. Keith Crawford chipped in 10 points, three assists and two steals.

Winston-Salem State will return to action on Wednesday night, as they will make a return trip to Raleigh to face the Bears of Shaw University. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 pm.