Feb. 2, 2005

Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State University Rams basketball team, the CIAA's hottest team, and one of the hottest teams in the nation, will take their 14-5 overall record and five-game winning streak to Lawrenceville, VA on Thursday afternoon as they travel to face Saint Paul's College at 5:30 PM in a CIAA intra-division basketball contest.

Complete Game Notes...The Rams -vs- Saint Paul's Complete Game Notes are available on the web at the following link: http://www.fansonly.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/wssu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/weekly-release

WSSU Update...The Rams are currently sporting a 14-5 overall record, and have moved to 7-1 in the CIAA (2-1 CIAA West) with Tuesday's 74-64 win over Fayetteville State University at Capel Arena in Fayetteville, NC. WSSU is riding a five-game win streak and is now receiving votes in the weekly NABC Division II national polls. The Rams were led in scoring by Alleggrie Guinn who recorded 21 points in the contest as he led three WSSU players into double-figures in scoring. Joining Guinn in double-digits were Rashad McGee with 12 points and Terris Sifford with 11. The Rams shot 48.3% from the floor and turned the ball over only 11 times, four below the WSSU season average. WSSU registered a season-high six blocks in the contest with Alleggrie Guinn collecting a pair, both coming in the second half of play. The Rams will return to action on Thursday evening as they travel to Lawrenceville, VA to face Saint Paul's College in a make-up game from January 22nd.

Rams Vs. Tigers...Meeting two of two during the 2004-05 regular season...Thursday's game is the first game of the evening with the women's contest immediately following the game...WSSU is ranked #8 in the South Atlantic Region with five other CIAA teams also ranked...Rams enter the game on a five-game winning streak...Tigers enter the contest riding a 25-game losing streak and are coming off of a loss to Fayetteville State...Rivalry between the Rams and Tigers has diminished as of late...Winston-Salem State won the last meeting on November 20th, 2004 (85-52) in Charlotte, NC at the JCSU Tip-Off Classic...WSSU has won the last seven head-to-head meetings and nine of the last 12 overall...WSSU is coming off of a 74-64 win over the Broncos of Fayetteville State University on Tuesday...WSSU has defeated two ranked opponents thus far during the 2004-05 season...The Rams will face former Winston-Salem native, coach Edward Joyner.

Coaching Matchups...This game will pit WSSU head coach Philip Stitt versus Edward Joyner...Stitt, in his fourth season, has amassed a record of 67-38 (.638) overall, while Edward Joyner is in his 1st season at Saint Paul's and has an overall coaching record of 0-15 at SPC (.000)...Stitt is 4-0 (1.00) versus Saint Paul's in his head coaching career...Joyner is 0-1 (.000) versus Stitt while at Saint Paul's as the two teams met earlier in the season (November 20th, 2004) in the second round of the Johnson C. Smith University Tip-Off Classic...The Rams won that game 85-53.

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 926 points. Guinn has appeared in 76 games for the Rams, starting 56 of them. He has averaged 12.18 points per game throughout his career at WSSU, scoring 265 points as a freshman, 367 points as a sophomore, and 284 thus far in 2004-05 (as a junior). With eight regular-season games remaining, Guinn needs only 74 points, or an average of 9.25 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 today...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.

TV Coverage...There is no television coverage for Thursday's contest Saint Paul's College. 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 Saint Paul's College 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 win over the Broncos of Fayetteville State University on Tuesday evening as they traveled to Capel Arena in Fayetteville, NC and defeated the home team 74-64 in an important CIAA Western Division contest. WSSU improved to 14-5 overall with the win as the Rams have now won five straight games and six of their last seven contests. The Rams are even receiving votes in the NABC Division II national polls. WSSU sits in second place in the CIAA's Western Division as they have played two less games than the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University who currently lead the division. WSSU will take to the road again on Thursday as they travel to Lawrenceville, VA to take on the Saint Paul's College Tigers in a contest that is being played as a make up game for a postponed contest from January 22nd, 2005. They will then rest for one day before taking to the road again to travel to Durham, NC to face North Carolina Central University on Saturday evening.

Scouting SPC...The Tigers have hit a bit of a rough patch lately as they have not won a game all season and are currently riding a 25-game losing streak dating back to last season (lost 26 of last 27 games). The Tigers are under first-year head coach Edward Joyner who is no stranger to the CIAA as he is a member of the CIAA's "first-family" the Joyners who have coaches and players scattered throughout the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Outscored...The Saint Paul's College Tigers are being outscored by their opponents by 26.3 points per game. SPC is averaging a mere 54.7 points per game while they are giving up 81.0 points per contest.

Steadily Improving...Though the Tigers may be struggling, they are steadily improving under first-year head coach Ed Joyner. They have bolstered their roster strength, and have just narrowly missed winning several games this season. The Tigers are definitely climibing out of the CIAA cellar and look to be well on their way to returning to the form of the once dominant CIAA team of the early 1990's.

Make It Two Straight...The Rams did something on last 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)