Feb. 12, 2005
Winston-Salem, NC - No Audly Wehner, no problem. Even without the services of WSSU leading scorer Audly Wehner, (16.8 ppg) that is what it looked like on Saturday evening as the Rams of Winston-Salem State University easily rolled past the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University by the score of 77-65 in front of 3,788 fans at the LJVM Coliseum to improve to 18-5 overall (11-1 CIAA) on the season.
The first half of play was one that saw the two teams battle back and forth as they went basket for basket in what seemed to be a game of "can you top this". Both the Rams and Golden Bulls led by four points on several occasions, yet neither team could pull ahead by double-digits.
However, it would be the Rams who held the largest lead of the half, at five points, and it would come right before the end of the period.
WSSU would trail by four points, 32-28 with only 1:52 to play in the half as it looked as though the visiting Golden Bulls would send the game to the locker room at halftime with the Rams trailing.
The Rams had other plans however, as a Terris Sifford (Cleveland, NC) free throw, coupled with a Frank Johnson (Washington, DC) three-pointer would tie the contest with 57 seconds remaining.
WSSU was not done as a Roy Peake (Thomasville, NC) steal and lay-up would give WSSU a two-point cushion only 11 seconds later.
To add insult to injury, the Golden Bulls would see their memories of the Legacy Classic flash in front of their eyes as Legacy Classic MVP Curtis Hines (Charlotte, NC) who gave the Rams a 71-70 buzzer-beating win over JCSU on January 15th, 2005, would hit another last second shot.
As he fell out of bounds, Hines got a clear look at the basket and buried a three-pointer with only four seconds remaining before halftime to give WSSU a five-point lead, at 37-32, heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
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The buzzer-beater seemed to demoralize the Golden Bulls as they would never recover, en route to watching the Rams earn their 18th win of the season.
The second half was one in which the game would never be tied as WSSU raced out of the locker room and never looked back, having an answer for every weapon and strategy that the Golden Bulls could throw at them.
WSSU would lead by as many as 16 points, leading 69-53 with 5:11 to play in the contest, as they used their workmanlike approach, and earned their ninth straight victory.
The Rams would again use their aggressive defensive style, and again it would pay dividends as WSSU forced 20 JCSU turnovers and converted them into 26 points.
 Terris Sifford Had Nine Points In WSSU Win Over Johnson C. Smith (Photo By Wade Nash)  |
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Seldom-used Corey Parker tallied six points in the game and Terris Sifford recorded nine points and five rebounds as he put the finishing touches on a spectacular alley-oop midway through the second half, for his 12th dunk of the season, and third of the game.
Alleggrie Guinn would have another spectacular night as he tallied 21 points to lead all scorers. He now needs only one point, sitting at 999 total points, to break the 1,000-point barrier as only a junior.
He was joined in double-figures by Frank Johnson who tallied 15 points, and Curtis Hines who recorded 11.
Johnson C. Smith was led by Charles Clark and Maurice Hooper who each recorded 12 points in the loss.
With the win, the Rams improve to 18-5 overall and 11-1 in the CIAA (5-2) while the Golden Bulls fall to 13-10 overall (7-5 CIAA and 4-3 CIAA West).
WSSU returns to action on Tuesday, February 15th, 2005 at 7:30 pm when they travel to Salisbury, NC to take on the Blue Bears of Livingstone College.
For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com
