UNCASVILLE, CT- The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team fell in a close battle to Kentucky State 86-79 on day one of the Chris Paul HBCU Classic at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Quick Stats
The Rams were led in scoring by Tyre Boykin with 16 points, and four Rams' all scored 11 points in the contest. Abou Camara led the Rams in rebounds with 13. WSSU shot 29-of-74 from the field, and 13-of-32 from the three-point line. They scored 30 points in the paint and had 30 bench points.

How it Happened
In the first half, Kentucky State got on the board early with a three-pointer, the Rams answered back with a three from Micah Jones. WSSU took its first lead of the game, 6-5 (18:13) on a three from Tyre Boykin. The Rams went up five, 15-10 with 15:48 to play in the game. After, exchanging points back-and-forth, KSU answered back with a run of its own taking a 24-17 lead with 12:23 to play in the half. KSU had its biggest lead of the half up ten, 33-23 with 9:33 to play. The Rams solid defense got them back in the game, trailing by three, 34-31 after a pair of free throws from Wesley Tubbs III. The Rams tied the game at 34, then, took a three-point lead on a Tyre Bokyin three (37-34) with 4:16 remaining. Solid defense sent the game tied at 44-all going into halftime.

In the second half, the game stayed evenly matched staying tied at 51 with 16:20 remaining in the game. Back-and-forth the two teams went and at the under 12 media timeout both teams was tied at 59-all. KSU found itself up eight, 71-63 with 8:08 on the clock. A three from Micah Jones got the Rams gave the Rams a 72-71 lead with 5:18 to play. With the game tied at 79-all, KSU went on a 7-0 run with a minute left in the game. 

Up Next
The Rams will be back in action tomorrow, Friday, December 20 at 11:00 am taking on Benedict College to wrap up the Chris Paul HBCU Classic.