Feb. 7, 2004

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Winston-Salem, NC - Some days you have it. Some days you don't, and some days hard work is enough to overcome life's bumps in the road. For WSSU, the effort just wasn't there on Saturday evening as they fell in defeat to the Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum by the score of 78-58 to drop their second consecutive game.

The first half of play was not a pretty one for the Winston-Salem State University Rams as they shot a season-low 23.3% from the floor and could muster only four points in the game's first six minutes of play. Despite their poor shooting, as they connected on only seven of their first 30 shots, the Rams would only trail the Golden Bulls by 12 points at the halftime intermission as JCSU led 35-23.

Meanwhile, the Golden Bulls, who were clinging to the 12-point cushion at the half, turned in a much more productive first 20 minutes of play as they shot a respectable 46.2% from the field. Leading the way for the Golden Bulls was Willie Martin (Sr./F/6'6"/Burgaw, NC) who tallied 13 points and 4 rebounds as he hit six of his eight shots from the field.

The lone bright spot for the Rams in the first half of play would be that five of their seven field goals were three-point buckets that kept the game moderately close.

The second half would turn out to be a wild affair as the two teams would trade runs and watch the JCSU lead see-saw back and forth between the teens and single digits.

The Rams cut the lead to eight points with 17:40 left in the second half before the Golden Bulls went on a 12-0 run to increase their lead to 20 points with 14:08 left in the contest.

The Rams would then benefit from Golden Bull foul trouble that forced two starters to the bench as a 7-0 run helped to get WSSU back into the contest. A final push cut the JCSU lead to as lean as seven points before the Rams ran out of gas.

The Golden Bulls' Chris Clyburn returned to the lineup after four fouls forced him to the bench and upon his return JCSU reeled off a 7-0 run of their own and put Winston-Salem State away for good.

The Rams, who fall to 14-9 overall (5-8 CIAA) and 2-5 in the Western Division with the loss have dropped five of their last six contests. The Golden Bulls, winners of their last three games, all of them CIAA Western Division tilts, improve to one game above .500 at 12-11 overall (7-5 CIAA) and 5-2 in the Western Division.

Commenting on the game, WSSU head coach Philip Stitt quickly summarized his team by saying: "You can't make guys want to play. They have to want it. And tonight, we didn't want it, and it showed in our effort, or lack thereof."

The Rams return to action on Tuesday, February 10th, 2004 at 7:30 pm as they will play host to the Blue Bears of Livingstone College at the LJVM Coliseum.