FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Winston-Salem State University Rams (15-9, 12-3 CIAA) put on one of the best defensive efforts of the season when the team took a hard-fought 53-52 nationally televised road win over the Fayetteville State Broncos (19-7, 8-7 CIAA), Saturday afternoon. The Rams held the Broncos to just 52 points on their home court to claim the win and to remain one of the top teams in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).

As a team, the Rams had their own share of offensive struggles, but the team made up for it with a strong defensive effort. The Rams were held to shooting just 33.3% (18-of-54) from the floor with 10 turnovers in the game. WSSU senior guard Robert Colon led the way for the Rams with 20 points. He was the only WSSU player to reach double-digit scoring while senior forward Mason Harrell and sophomore guard Jaylen Alston added eight rebounds each to lead the Rams.

The tough defense showed up early as both the Rams and the Broncos found points hard to come by in the first half. Things were especially tough in the early going for the Rams as they trailed the Broncos, 8-3 after a free throw from sophomore guard Jonathan Hicklin with 14:46 left in the half. The Rams were able to get things into gear soon  after that as they outscored the Broncos 10-7 and pulled to within two points of the Broncos, 15-13, with 6:47 left in the first half. The Rams claimed their first lead of the game, 18-17 after a lay-up from Alston with 3:02 left in the half. From there, the two teams went back-and-forth, but a Colon three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Rams a 24-21 halftime lead.

The second half saw another tough defensive battle between the two teams with the Rams and the Broncos looking to pull out the victory. Coming out of the half, it was the Broncos with the hot start as the Rams allowed them to take a 30-25 lead, but WSSU was not going to give into the Broncos so easily. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Xavier Fennell capped a 15-9 run by the Rams and put the team back in front, 40-39 with 9:34 left to play. The momentum swung back and forth between the two teams for the remainder of the game as neither went ahead by more than four points for the remainder of the game. With the game tied, 50-50 with just under two minutes left to play, Colon hit a three-pointer to give the Rams a 53-50 lead. From there, the Rams turned to their defensive effort to pull out the win. The team held the Broncos to just one lay-up in the final two minutes of the game, including forcing a missed three-pointer as time expired and sealed the Rams' 53-52 win. 

With the win, the Rams improve to 15-9 overall and 12-3 in CIAA play. The team also remains tied for first place in the CIAA Southern Division with an 8-2 record. The Rams will return to action, Wednesday, when the team heads to Charlotte, N.C. to take on the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls. For more information on Rams men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.