Dec. 4, 2004
Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State University Rams were the beneficiaries of a 9-for-11 shooting performance from Audly Wehner as he recorded a game-high 22 points en route to leading WSSU to an 82-75 victory over the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University in the final game of the 2004 C.E. Gaines Basketball Classic in Winston-Salem, NC on Saturday evening.
The contest pitted Wehner, the 2003-04 CIAA Rookie of the Year versus last season's West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Tony Cornett. Cornett and Wehner lived up to their hype as Wehner pumped in a game high 22 points and Cornett led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The first half of play saw eight lead changes and seven ties as the two teams traded blows for the games' first 20 minutes of play. The Rams used the inside presence of Wehner to control the tempo of the contest as he scored half of his 22 points in the first period of play.
The Yellow Jackets used their outside game to stay in the contest as they connected on four of 11 shots from behind the three-point line. The visiting `Jac kets would sneak ahead in the half's final moments and head to the locker room clutching a one-basket lead at 34-32.
The second half of play was won by the Rams as they used a solid two man game as Wehner continued his dominance in the paint, scoring another 11 points, and he was joined from the perimeter by junior guard Alleggrie Guinn.
Guinn, who had gone 0-3 in the first half, finally heated up as he scored all 21 of his points in the second half of play, going six-of-seven from the field, and seven-of-eight from the free-throw line in the process.
WSSU's largest lead of the game would come at the 14:33 mark of the second half, where, with only 2:27 remaining, the home team would lead by eight points, 76-68.
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The Yellow Jackets would cut the lead to as little as three points, at 78-75 with 25 seconds to play in the game, but the Rams would use solid free-throw shooting down the stretch, and an incredible block by Guinn in the final ten seconds of the game, to preserve the win and move to 6-2 in the process.
With the win, the Rams improve to 6-2 overall (0-0 CIAA) while the Yellow Jackets fall to 3-3 overall (0-0 WVIAC) with the loss.
WSSU returns to action on December 7th, 2004 as they travel to Mars-Hill, NC to face off against Mars-Hill at 7:00 pm.
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 wssurams.com
CE Gaines Classic All-Tournament Team:
John Fulton - Johnson C. Smith
Audly Wehner - Winston-Salem State University
Tony Cornett - West Virginia State
C.J. Paul - USC-Upstate
Jay Fee-USC-Upstate
Tournament Most Valuable Player:
Audly Wehner - Winston-Salem State University
