RALEIGH, NC – Winston-Salem State fell behind early and never found their rhythm, as the Rams fell to the Shaw Bears, 87-70 Wednesday night at CC Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.

With the loss, WSSU falls to 7-11 overall, 1-6 in the CIAA, and 1-1 in the Southern Division. The Bears improve to 8-11 overall, 5-2 in the CIAA and  1-1 in the Southern Division.

Winston-Salem State dug a hole early for itself on Wednesday night, as the Rams fell behind 19-6 within the first seven minutes of the game, before rallying to cut the lead to five, at 28-23 with 6:38 to play in the first half.

Shaw, however, would finish off the first half with a 16-5 run to take a 44-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

As the second half begun, the teams would trade baskets back and forth, until the Bears exploded for a 22 point lead midway through the half.

WSSU battled back to cut the lead to 13, before a technical foul and a 13-0 run by Shaw, extended their lead back out to 20 plus points.

The Rams would eventually cut the lead to 17 points, on the last made basket of the night, a three pointer from rob Story, to make the final score, 87-70.

The Rams were dominated on the glass, outrebounded 61 to 34, and the Bears also dominated in the paint, outscoring the Rams 42-18.

Winston-Salem State was led in scoring by Terrell Leach, who finished with 15 points, two rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist, while Rayvon Harris added 13 points, two assists and a team high eight rebounds. William Crandell chipped in 11 points and four rebounds.

The Shaw Bears were led in scoring by Larry Richardson who scored a game-high 21 points, while John Savoy added 13 points and six rebounds and Joell Hopkins, Jr. added 11 points and four rebounds.