Feb. 1, 2005

Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team will travel to Fayetteville, NC on Tuesday evening to tip-off against the Broncos of Fayetteville State University at 7:30 pm from Capel Arena as WSSU puts its #8 regional ranking and 13-5 record on the line versus the 7-12 Broncos.

WSSU Update...The Rams are coming off of a win on Saturday afternoon at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, NC over the #13-ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University by the score of 67-62 to defeat their second nationally-ranked opponent of the 2004-05 season. The Rams would trail for less than one minute in the contest as the home team used a stellar season-low five turnovers to hand the 13th-ranked Bulldogs their third loss of the season. Audly Wehner led the way for the Rams as he recorded 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, as well as pulling down nine rebounds. He was joined in double-figures by teammates Rashad McGee and Alleggrie Guinn who tallied 14 and 11 points respectively. The Rams shot only 36.1% from the floor, but were able to use aggressive defense and energy to defeat the Bulldogs for the second straight season. WSSU will return to the court on Tuesday as they travel to Fayetteville, NC to face the Broncos.

Rams Vs. Broncos...Meeting one of two during the 2004-05 regular season...Tuesday's game is the second game of the evening following the women's contest...WSSU is ranked #8 in the South Atlantic Region with five other CIAA teams also ranked...Rams enter the game on a four-game winning streak...Broncos enter the contest riding a one-game win streak and are coming off of a victory over St. Paul's...Rivalry between the Broncos and Rams has been one of the fiercest in the CIAA as of late...Fayetteville State won the last meeting on February 14th, 2004 (76-72) in Fayetteville, NC...FSU has won the last two head-to-head meetings but only four of the last 12...WSSU is coming off of a 67-62 win over the Bulldogs of Bowie State University on Saturday...WSSU has defeated two ranked opponents thus far during the 2004-05 season...The Rams will face former WSSU coach Sam Hanger who is in his fourth season with the Broncos.

Coaching Matchups...This game will pit WSSU head coach Philip Stitt versus Sam Hanger...Stitt, in his fourth season, has amassed a record of 66-38 (.634) overall, while Sam Hanger is in his 4th season at Fayetteville State and has an overall coaching record of 36-40 at FSU (.473)...Stitt is 3-3 (.500) versus FSU and Hanger in his head coaching career...Hanger is 3-3 (.500) versus Stitt while at Fayetteville State...Hanger has an overall coaching career record of 153-141 (.530) during his 11 year career behind the bench as a head coach. Hanger is in his 11th season overall and fourth at Fayetteville State.

1000 Point Watch...Alleggrie Guinn, a junior from Charlotte, NC is closing in on the 1,000 point mark. Through two and a half seasons, Guinn has tallied 905 points. Guinn has appeared in 75 games for the Rams, starting 55 of them. He has averaged 12.06 points per game throughout his career at WSSU, scoring 265 points as a freshman, 367 points as a sophomore, and 273 thus far in 2004-05 (as a junior). With nine regular-season games remaining, Guinn needs only 95 points, or an average of 10.55 points per game to shatter the 1,000 plateau during the 2004-05 regular season.

CIAA Eastern Division Vs. WSSU...The contest between Bowie State and the Rams was WSSU's fifth game versus the CIAA's Eastern Division in 2004-05 with the Rams posting a 5-0 record thus far this season...WSSU defeated #1 in the nation Virginia Union on January 4th, 2005 by the score of 76-62; defeated Elizabeth City State on January 6th, 2005 by the score of 60-46; and defeated Shaw University last Thursday, January 20th, 2005 by the score of 76-72 before defeating Virginia State on January 25th, 2005 (66-52) and Bowie State last Saturday (January 29th, 2005)...WSSU looks to stay perfect versus the CIAA's Eastern Division in 2004-05 if they can defeat St. Paul's later this season...The Rams faced Eastern-Division member St. Paul's in a non-conference game on November 20th, 2004 and defeated the Tigers 85-53.

CIAA Has Five Of Top Ten...The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is showing just how much quality talent is within the men's basketball ranks this season as five of the top ten teams in the South Atlantic Region Rankings are members of the CIAA, and a Ram opponent from this season sits at #1 in the region. USC-Upstate, who narrowly defeated the Rams this season is atop the region with the CIAA's Virginia Union in second, Bowie State in third, North Carolina Central in fifth, Winston-Salem State in eighth, and Johnson C. Smith in ninth. The Rams have defeated Virginia Union and Johnson C.Smith as well as Bowie State (last Saturday in Winston-Salem). WSSU will face NC Central this Saturday in Durham, NC.

About The Rams...The 2003-04 Rams finished the season with an overall mark of 16-12 and a CIAA record of 6-10, good enough to finish in fourth place in the CIAA's Western Division. The Rams have nine letter-winners returning and lose only four players from last season's team. The Rams return four starters during the upcoming 2004-05 season and will welcome a plethora of newcomers (7 in total).

Rams Picked Fifth...The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association held its annual men's and women's basketball media and coaches exchange on Thursday, October 6th, 2004 at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley Hotel where the 2004-05 All-CIAA Pre-Season Teams and predicted order of finish were announced to coaches, administrators and media members. The Rams of Winston-Salem State University were picked to finish fifth in the Western Division, ahead of only the Blue Bears of Livingstone. The predicted order of finish selections were unkind to the Rams as they have been picked to finish ahead of only Livingstone a team that fnished last in 2003-04. However, the Rams split the 2003-04 season series' with three of the four teams that have been picked to finish behind. The Virginia Union University Panthers, the defending CIAA champions, are picked to win the CIAA's Eastern Division, and the Broncos of Fayetteville State are picked to pull to the forefront in the CIAA's Western Division. WSSU will have try to prove the skeptics wrong in 2004-05 as they look to again become CIAA champions.

TV Coverage...There is no television coverage for Tuesday's contest Fayetteville State University. Check out the official website of WSSU Athletics at wssurams.com for future television updates and times. The Rams may appear on television as many as three times during the 2004-05 regular season, and will appear on ESPN 2/ESPN Classic during the 2005 CIAA Tournament due to the recent deal between the CIAA and ESPN to televise the entire 2005 tournament live on TV.

Radio Coverage...The game between the Rams and Fayetteville State University will be available to listeners in the greater Winston-Salem area on WSNC, FM 90.5 with Sam Harley and the "Voice of the Rams", Bill Franklin calling all the action as well as nationally on the internet at www.wssu.edu by clicking on the link: "Listen to WSNC." Home radio is unannounced as of press time.

WSSU's Last Game...The Rams are coming off of a big win over the #13 Bulldogs of Bowie State University by the score of 67-62 on January 29th, 2005 at the C.E. Gaines Center. The win was the Rams fourth in a row and fifth over a team from the CIAA's Eastern Division, as well as second over a ranked opponent. The contest marked the second to last of three games that the Rams will play at the C.E. Gaines Center during the 2004-05 basketball season. The Rams were paced by Audly Wehner who led three Rams in double figures with 19 points on the night. Alleggrie Guinn chipped in with 11 points and Rashad McGee tallied 10 points. The Rams improved to 13-5 on the season with the win, and increased their CIAA record to an impressive 6-1 overall. WSSU will take to the court again this Tuesday, February 1st, 2005 at 7:30 pm in Capel Arena on the campus of Fayetteville State University when they face off against the Broncos of Fayetteville State.

Scouting FSU...The Broncos enter into the contest versus the Rams with an overall record of 7-12 and a CIAA record of 4-5, with a 2-2 mark in the Western Division (through games of 01/30/05). The Broncos are coming off of an 86-57 win over Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA on Saturday as they snapped a one-game losing streak.

Third Place...The Broncos are sitting in the middle of the pack in the CIAA's Western Division. At 2-2 overall in the division, the Broncos trail only WSSU who is 1-1 in the CIAA west and Johnson C. Smith who is 3-1 in the CIAA west.

One Of Two...The Rams and Broncos will meet at least twice during the 2004-05 with two meetings coming in the regular season. Tuesday's contest in Fayetteville, NC will be the first meeting with the second meeting coming on February 20th, 2005 at the LJVM Coliseum in a rare Sunday game.

Home And Away...Thus far during the 2004-05 basketball season, the Rams seem to be very comfortable on the road. WSSU is an impressive 7-3 away from the C.E. Gaines Center. They are 5-3 on the road and 2-0 versus opponents at neutral sites. WSSU is four games above .500, posting a 6-2 record at home in the "friendly" confines of the Gaines Center or LJVM Coliseum Complex. WSSU defeated West Virginia State, North Florida, #1 Virginia Union, Shaw, Virginia State and #13 Bowie State at home and dropped contests to Lenoir-Rhyne (who they defeated in Hickory, NC), and the Spartans of USC-Upstate.

The Rams Like It Free...The 2003-04 WSSU Rams basketball team likes to get points for free. This is evident if you look at WSSU's starting lineup as four out of five Ram starters are shooting 70% or better from the free throw line. Darnell Gregory is 14-19 from the line (73.7%); Alleggrie Guinn is 62-74 (83.8%); Audly Wehner is 70-94 (74.5%); and Rashad McGee is 40-47 (85.1%). The only Ram starter shooting below 75% is Frank Johnson who is 5-10 from the line, for a free-throw percentage of 50.0%.

WSSU Is Used To It...Like every opponent they have faced this season, the Rams will be outsized and likely outrebounded again this week. The Rams have posted a rebounding deficit of -2.4 rebounds per contest. However, the 2004-05 Rams are giving up the least amount of rebounds to their opponents in the CIAA conference, leading the CIAA in rebounding defense at 30.0 rebounds per game.

Doesn't Miss Much...WSSU sophomore forward, and 2003-04 CIAA Rookie of the Year Audly Wehner continues to impress. Not only is he sixth in the conference in scoring with 16.5 points per game, he is making the most of his offensive opportunities as he is hitting nearly 64% of his field goal attempts. Though he missed two games with a knee injury, limiting him to appearances in 16 of WSSU's 18 games, he has hit 96 of his 151 shots from the field for a shooting percentage of 63.6%. This 63.6% (through games of 01/30/05) leads the CIAA in field goal percentage.

Don't Put Them On The Line...Opponents of the Rams would be well advised not to send WSSU ballers to the free throw line. Heading into the second half of the season, and through 17 games of the 2004-05 season, roughly 1/2 of the way through the regular season, the Rams have three players in the top ten in free throw shooting percentage. WSSU's Alleggrie Guinn is ranked fifth in the CIAA with a FT% of 83.8%. Teammate Rashad McGee is 4th with a shooting percentage of 85.1%, and Audly Wehner is 9th in FT% as he is hitting 74.5% of his free-throw attempts. As a team, the Rams are hitting 70.5% of their attempts from the charity stripe. This places the Rams third in the CIAA in free-throw shooting behind the #13 team in the nation, Bowie State who is hitting 74.3% of their FT's and #1 Virginia Union University who are hitting 73.2% of their free throws. If this is any indication of how the season will progress, the Rams are doing the "little things" right and will be in good shape for the remaining 1/2 of the schedule. WSSU is hoping this translates into their 11th CIAA title (through games of 01/30/05). Virginia Union has the top two free-throw shooters in the CIAA in Luqman Jaaber (.917) and Darius Hargrove (89.2%). BSU's Kevin Bell is in third place (85.5%) (Through games of January 30th, 2005).

Make It Two Straight...The Rams did something on Saturday that they had never done....beat two ranked opponents in the same season. The Rams defeated #1 Virginia Union (January 4th) and #13 Bowie State (January 29th)