Dec. 7, 2004
Mars Hill, NC - A two-plus hour trip 20 miles north of Asheville to Mars Hill, NC proved fruitful for the Winston-Salem State University Rams as they improved to 3-2 overall this season in games decided by five points or less as they captured an important 83-80 road victory over the Lions of Mars Hill College.
Fans in attendance at the Burt Stanford Arena on the campus of Mars Hill College on Tuesday evening were witness to a very competitive first half of play as the two teams traded leads almost as often as they traded baskets with eight lead changes and four ties during the first 20 minutes of play.
The Rams would open the game's scoring as Alleggrie Guinn (Jr./Charlotte, NC) put WSSU ahead 1-0 by hitting the first of a pair of free throws only 41 seconds into the contest.
WSSU would eventually take their largest lead of the half with 16:23 remaining as the Rams led by six points, holding a 9-3 advantage. However, the lead would be short lived.
Defending their home court, the Lions would use a 19-5 run over the next five minutes and 15 seconds as they quickly put the visiting Rams in an eight-point hole.
As has been the case for most of the 2004-05 season thus far, the Rams would chip away at the deficit with aggressive defense and points off of turnovers, using depth and quickness to retake the lead after exactly 12 minutes of play.
The final eight minutes of the half saw the two teams separated by no more than four points, and Jeremiah Tinch's layup with two seconds left on the clock put the home team Lions up 38-36 heading to the locker room at halftime.
To the surprise of no one, the Rams' two leading scorers at the half were Guinn and forward Audly Wehner. Wehner, who came into the contest leading the team in scoring recorded 10 points during the first half, and Guinn, who came into the contest as WSSU's second leading scorer, only percentage points behind Wehner, was dead even with him at the half as he too chipped in with 10 points and a pair of rebounds.
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The second half of play was one that saw the Rams open up a 12-point lead after less than five minutes of play as WSSU looked to be prepared to run away with the contest.
In college basketball looks can be deceiving, and that was exactly the case as the Lions used momentum and the support of a large home crowd to tie the game at 60-60 following a 10-0 run. The Rams would respond with a run of their own, this time of the 13-6 variety, to retake a 73-66 lead following Alleggrie Guinn's 23rd point of the game at the 15:52 mark of the second half.
Trailing 77-71 with just over two minutes to go, the Lions needed easy baskets to tie the contest, however WSSU's defensive resolve would not waver. The Rams, who average a CIAA-low 1.8 blocks per game, used blocks on back-to-back possessions, the first by Guinn and the second by forward Terris Sifford, (Sr./Greensboro, NC) to maintain their six-point lead.
To the Lions credit, they again clawed their way back into the contest as Kirby Lee drilled a deep three-pointer with 49.6 seconds remaining in the game to pull MHC to within three points at 80-77. The Lions then forced a WSSU five-second call as the Rams' 20th turnover of the game gave the ball back to the home team.
Following a foul, the Lions' Jeremiah Tinch converted half of a two-shot trip to the charity stripe to pull Mars Hill to within a field goal. MHC then immediately fouled, putting redshirt freshman Roy Peake (Fr./Thomasville, NC) on the free throw line. Showing the poise of a senior, Peake calmly hit both freebies, and gave WSSU a two-possession lead with slightly over 20 seconds to play.
Mars Hill was unable to mount a comeback in the game's final 20 seconds despite getting an easy layup, and WSSU free throws would make the final margin three points as the Rams would leave Stanford Arena with an 83-80 victory.
With the win the Rams improve to 7-2 overall (0-0 CIAA) while the Lions fall to 4-5 overall with the loss (0-0 South Atlantic). WSSU returns to action on December 18th, 2004 at 4:00 pm as they travel to Augusta, GA to take on Augusta State University.
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
