Rams down Bison 62-58

Winston-Salem State, in front of the largest crowd of the season at the Gaines Center, showed off its muscle yesterday.

The Rams got a hard-fought 62-58 victory that was as physical a game as they have been involved in all season.

"My whole body hurts right now," said center Paul Davis, who took the brunt of the hard-nosed man-to-man defense the Bison were playing.

Wearing their third choice of uniforms -- red jerseys with red shorts -- the Rams shot 49 percent and held the Bison to 34-percent shooting. The sold-out crowd was around 3,200, thanks in part to school officials not charging admission to the game because of uncertain weather conditions.

"I'm very pleased with the way our fans came through and cheered at the right time, and that was a big difference in the game," Coach Bobby Collins of the Rams said of the packed gym that included the ear-splitting band.

The play of point guard Andrew Jackson helped the Rams down the stretch. Jackson missed two of the past three games because of an ankle injury, but was healthy enough yesterday. The Rams also got a boost from Shelton Carter, who has been fighting a prolonged shooting slump.

Carter scored 15 points, including six points on their first two possessions of the second half that got the Rams (9-12, 5-5) going in the right direction. Those quick six points gave the Rams a 36-24 lead.

"I've just been practicing all week and trying to stay ready," Carter said. "I was able to come through."

He also came through with 10.9 seconds left and the Rams clinging to a two-point lead. Carter hit both free throws to secure the win.

Davis scored 14 points, had nine rebounds and three blocks as he, Corey Morris and McIntoche Alcius took turns getting knocked around in the post. But the three outscored the Bison down low 34-18.

"They were physical and coach just told me to fight through all of that," Davis said. "We were prepared for that all week and in practice (the second team) was more physical with us than usual because we knew what was coming … I didn't get frustrated."

One of the biggest baskets came with 2:56 left as Jackson fed Alcius for a two-handed dunk that pushed the Rams' lead back up to seven.

Collins said he was pleased in the final three minutes when the Rams attacked the extended pressure of the Bison.

"Sometimes it's Marcus' (Wells) time to run the team at the end, and I really expect Drew to do that down the stretch and knock down free throws for us," Collins said. "Both guys did a good job of attacking when they were in their scramble, and I thought that was the difference in the game."

The Rams will play Hampton on Monday in their third game in five days, and Davis is hoping for the same kind of fan support.

"It was free admission for this game, but I didn't expect to see a crowd like this," Davis said. "It was a great atmosphere and the fans were into it and we tried to go out and put on a show for them."

jdell@wsjournal.com.
727-4081

HOWD Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF Pts

Walker 22 2-7 0-0 1-5 3 1 4

Collins 16 1-6 0-0 0-0 0 1 2

Kirkpatrick 24 2-5 0-1 1-4 1 3 4

White 32 6-13 3-3 1-3 2 0 20

Braimbridge 11 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 3

Mukole 10 0-3 0-0 4-5 0 2 0

Thompson 30 5-13 2-4 4-6 6 4 12

Phillips 14 3-6 2-3 2-5 0 3 8

Riley 8 0-4 0-0 1-1 0 1 0

Prince 18 1-5 0-0 1-1 1 0 3

Cooper 11 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

DeCosta 4 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 2 2

Totals 200 22-65 7-11 20-41 15 18 58

Percentages: FG .338, FT .636; 3-Point Goals: 7-28, .250 (White 5-11, Braimbridge 1-2, Prince 1-4, Mukole 0-1, Riley 0-1, Phillips 0-1, Collins 0-4, Thompson 0-4); Team Rebounds: 10; Blocked Shots: 3 (Walker 2, Phillips); Turnovers: 13 (White 3, Collins 2, Phillips 2, Thompson 2, DeCosta, Walker, Kirkpatrick, Riley); Steals: 6 (Thompson 2, White, Collins, Phillips, Prince); Technical Fouls: None.

WSSU Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF Pts

Morris 19 2-6 2-2 2-4 0 3 6

Davis 35 6-9 2-4 2-9 0 1 14

Wells 21 2-5 0-2 0-2 0 0 4

Fisher 33 4-8 1-2 0-2 3 1 10

Carter 35 5-12 3-3 2-3 1 2 15

Monger 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Jackson 21 0-2 2-3 0-2 5 1 2

Platt 6 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2

Hobbs 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Alcius 19 4-6 0-0 0-6 1 3 9

Totals 200 24-49 10-16 6-33 11 14 62

Percentages: FG .490, FT .625; 3-Point Goals: 4-10, .400 (Carter 2-3, Alcius 1-2, Fisher 1-3, Wells 0-1, Jackson 0-1); Team Rebounds: 5; Blocked Shots: 3 (Davis 3); Turnovers: 15 (Fisher 3, Morris 2, Monger 2, Davis 2, Alcius 2, Wells, Hobbs, Jackson, Carter); Steals: 5 (Carter, Fisher, Morris, Davis, Alcius);

Howard 24 34 -- 58
Winston-Salem 30 32 -- 62

A--1,314.