CHARLOTTE, NC – The Winston-Salem State University Rams (15-10, 12-4 CIAA) gave it their all, but the team came up short in a 55-53 road loss to the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (18-7, 12-4 CIAA). In a game that gave the winner a strong edge in claiming the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division championship, both the Rams and the Golden Bulls put on a tremendous effort, but the late shots did not fall through for the Rams.

The Rams took the loss in spite of a great overall team effort in the game. As a team, the Rams were held to shooting just 32.3% (21-of-65) from the floor, including shooting just 14.8% (four-of-27) from the three-point line. The Rams countered their offensive struggles with some great defense as they held the Golden Bulls to shooting just 28.6% (16-of-56) from the floor. WSSU senior guard Robert Colon led the way for the Rams with 17 points in the game. Sophomore guard Jonathan Hicklin added 12 points.

The first half saw a strong start for the Rams, but the fell victim to a late surge by the Golden Bulls to take a deficit into the locker room at the half. At the start of the game, it was the Rams who got things going early with a 9-4 start after a pair of Colon free throws with 16:23 left in the first half, but the Rams allowed a run by the Golden Bulls that tied the game, 9-9. As the half went on, the Rams would once against take charge of the game as a Colon three-pointer with 6:22 left in the half capped a 13-3 WSSU run and gave the Rams a 22-12 lead. Unfortunately, it was then that the Rams went cold as the team was held to just one more field goal for the remainder of the half while the Golden Bulls chipped away at the WSSU lead until the final buzzer when a JCSU three-pointer at the buzzer left the Rams trailing, 26-24 at the half.

The thrilling first half set the stage for an equally exciting second half as the Rams once again gave a tremendous effort to close out the game. After allowing an early run to the Golden Bulls and falling behind, 35-28 near the midway point of the half, the Rams began to work their way back into the game. It was Colon who got things started with a jumper with 13:52 left to play that left the Rams trailing 35-30. The score sparked an 8-1 run that was capped by a Colon jumper that put the Rams on top, 38-36 with 9:59 left to play. For the remainder of the game, neither team went ahead by more than two points until the final seconds of play. With 1:30 left to play, the Rams found themselves trailing, 49-45 before a Hicklin three-pointer cut the WSSU deficit down to one point,  49-48, with 00:52 left to play. For the remaining minute of play, the Rams held the Golden Bulls without a field goal, but the Golden Bulls would connect on four clutch free throws to seal the WSSU 55-53 loss.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 15-10 overall and 12-4 in CIAA play. The team also falls to 8-3 in CIAA Southern Division play. The Rams will close out the regular season when the team hosts the Livingstone Blue Bears in a Senior Day game at 4:30 p.m., Saturday. 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.