Feb. 8, 2005

Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team will put its 15-5 overall record (8-1 CIAA, 3-1 CIAA West) on the line Tuesday evening at the LJVM Coliseum Annex as they look to avenge their only CIAA loss of the season when they play host to the Falcons of Saint Augustine's College (8-12 Overall, 5-7 CIAA, 3-3 CIAA West) in an important CIAA Western Division basketball match up.

WSSU Update...The Rams are currently sporting a 15-5 overall record, and have moved to 8-1 in the CIAA (3-1 CIAA West) with Tuesday's 74-64 win over Fayetteville State University at Capel Arena in Fayetteville, NC and the overtime win over North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC on Saturday evening. WSSU is riding a six-game win streak and is now receiving votes in the weekly NABC Division II national polls. The Rams had another stellar week of performances from Audly Wehner who tallied a game-high 30 points on 12 for 18 shooting versus North Carolina Central to help the Rams to an 86-81 overtime victory over their Western Division Rival.

WSSU Vs. SAC - The First Meeting Of 2004-05...The Rams and Falcons met earlier this season on January 11th, 2005. WSSU fell in defeat in that game 75-71 in Raleigh, NC.

Rams Vs. Falcons...Meeting two of two during the 2004-05 regular season...St. Augustine's College defeated the Rams in Raleigh, NC on January 11th, 2005 by the score of 75-71...Friday's game is the second game of the evening with the women's contest immediately before the game...WSSU is ranked #6 in the South Atlantic Region with five other CIAA teams also ranked...Rams enter the game on a six-game winning streak...Falcons enter the contest riding a one-game losing streak and are coming off of a 88-65 loss to Virginia Union...Rivalry between the Rams and Falcons has increased as of late, as SAC has won the last five meetings...SAC won the last head-to-head meeting and five of the last six overall...WSSU is coming off of a 86-81 win over the Eagles of North Carolina Central University on Tuesday...WSSU has defeated two ranked opponents thus far during the 2004-05 season...The 6-game win streak is WSSU's longest in 04-05.

Coaching Matchups...This game will pit WSSU head coach Philip Stitt versus Thomas Hargrove...Stitt, in his fourth season, has amassed a record of 68-38 (.641) overall, while Hargrove is in his seventh season at Saint Augustine's College and has an overall coaching record of 92-88 at SAC (.511)...Stitt is 2-5 (.285) versus Saint Augustine's in his head coaching career...Hargrove is 7-5 (.583) versus WSSU serving as head coach....Hargrove has coached the last two CIAA Players of the Year in Patrick Pope (2003) and Desmond Peoples (2004).

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 938 points. Guinn has appeared in 77 games for the Rams, starting 57 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 296 thus far in 2004-05 (as a junior). With seven regular-season games remaining, Guinn needs only 62 points, or an average of 8.85 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 eighth, Winston-Salem State in sixth, and Johnson C. Smith in ninth. The Rams have defeated Virginia Union and Johnson C.Smith as well as Bowie State and North Carolina Central (this past Saturday in Durham, NC, 86-81 in overtime).

TV Coverage...There is no television coverage for Tuesday's contest Saint Augustine's. 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 Augustine's 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 pair of wins last week. The first win being a victory 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 had now won five straight games and six of their last seven contests. The second win of the week was an overtime thriller in Durham, NC over the North Carolina Central University Eagles. WSSU got 30 points from Audly Wehner as the Rams remained perfect in overtime this season (2-0 overall in overtime). The Rams got some late-game heroics from Frank Johnson who recorded back to back three-pointers to propel WSSU to the overtime win. With the win, the Rams improved to 15-5 overall and climbed to 8-1 in CIAA league play (3-1 CIAA West). WSSU returns to action on Tuesday evening, February 8th, 2005 at the LJVM Annex versus St. Augustine's.

The Rams have shot 50% or better from the field in eight games this season, and have won all but one of those contests (wins versus Saint Paul's, Concord, North Florida, Mars Hill, Virginia Union, Elizabeth City, NC Central and a loss to St. Augustine's).

Turnover Anyone?...The Rams, as of press time, are forcing an amazing 19.6 opponent turnovers per contest. At the same time, WSSU is turning the ball over only 15.6 times per game for an advantage of 4.0 turnovers per game. That turnover margin is second in the CIAA with nationally-ranked Virginia Union (#2) leading the CIAA with a +6.95 turnover margin (19.9 forced turnovers/13.0 turnovers) (Through games of 02/06/05).

Stealing Wins...How do the Rams average 19.6 opponent turnovers per game this season? By stealing the ball away from the opposition. WSSU is averaging an astonishing 10.30 steals per game in 2004-05. That 10.83 steals per game average is 2nd in the CIAA statistical rankings this season. (Through games of 02/06/05).

Ranked Third and Eighth In The Entire CIAA...Sophomore forward Audly Wehner is currently third in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association rankings in terms of scoring as he is averaging 16.8 points per contest. WSSU's Alleggrie Guinn is also in the top-10 in scoring (8th) as he is averaging 15.3 points per contest, ranking 8th in the CIAA in scoring (Through games of 02/06/05).

Long-Arm Robbery...Junior guard Alleggrie Guinn is ranked fifth in the CIAA in steals per game as he is snaring 2.35 of them per game. He is joined by teammate Terris Sifford who, using his wing span, is averaging 1.55 steals per game which puts him in 14th in the CIAA rankings. Rashad McGee is 13th with 1.6 steals/gm. (Through games of 02/06/05).

Freshman Giving...WSSU's highly-touted freshman guard Roy Peake is second in the CIAA's ranking in assist to turnover ratio as he is averaging 2.38 assists per turnover. His second place ranking (behind only Virginia Union's Juqman Jaaber) takes over for last season's CIAA leader, teammate Rashad McGee, who led the conference in assist to turnover ratio during the 2003-04 season (Through games of 02/06/05).

Very Deep...Depth is a key for the Rams as the 2004-05 team can go as many as 13 players deep. WSSU has not a single one player in the CIAA's top-20 in minutes per game (Alleggrie Guinn is 29th with 28.20 mpg ) as Philip Stitt will go to his bench early and often this sesaon. (Through games of 02/06/05).

History Repeats Itself...WSSU once again is near the top of the conference in steals, just like the '03-04 season. WSSU is averaging an impressive 10.30 steals per game. The Falcons of Saint Augustine's College are leading the conference with an average of 10.40 steals per game. (Through games of 02/06/05).

Dishing The Rock...The Rams are a giving team thus far in 2004-05 as they have scored 503 total field goals, and have recorded 316 assists. The Rams have recorded an assist on 62.8% of their made field goals this year so far.

Just Like Last Year...The Rams are averaging 10.3 steals per game so far during the 2004-05 season. WSSU is outdoing the pace of last season when they averaged nearly 10 steals per game (with 9.7 steals per game). WSSU has increased its steal production by 9.41% this season.

22-15 Overall Vs. Non-Conference Opponents...The Rams are 22-15 versus non-conference opponents under current WSSU head coach Philip Stitt and have posted a 7-4 non-conference record this season. WSSU has lost only five games, with all but one being non-conference matchups this season, as they fell in the season-opener 55-53 to Lenoir-Rhyne and 46-49 to USC-Upstate on December 4th, 2004 in the first round of the 2004 CE Gaines Classic before dropping their third overall game, a 70-52 loss to Augusta State University (December 18th, 2004). They then fell in defeat on January 2nd, 2005 on the road in Jacksonville, FL losing 67-64 to North Florida. WSSU also lost to St. Augustine's on January 11th.

Rim Rocking Rams...As of press time the Rams have recorded 39 dunks during the regular season (plus 6 dunks that came in the exhibition season). Terris Sifford has the most dunks of any player on the current Ram roster as he has recorded twelve dunks and one spectacular miss versus the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons. Alleggrie Guinn has nine dunks through 19 games of the 2004-05 basketball season.

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 9-3 away from the C.E. Gaines Center. They are 7-3 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.

WSSU Is...10-2 when leading a contest at halftime. The Rams are 4-3 when trailing a game at halftime and have won their only game of the season that was tied at the halftime intermission.

WSSU Is...2-2 when they shoot less than 40% from the field. The 2003-04 Rams were 6-8 when they shot less that 40% from the field last season.

WSSU Is...9-4 when they are outrebounded by an opponent. Last season WSSU was 10-1 when they outrebounded their opponent. They lost only one time when they outrebounded their opponent. That loss came versus Virginia Union on 12-13-03 when they tallied two more rebounds than the Panthers and lost by three points.

WSSU is...5-1 when they allow opponents to shoot better than 50% from the floor. Last season WSSU was 7-5 when they held their opponents to between a 40% and 49% shooting percentage from the floor. WSSU won their last game, an 83-80 decision over Mars Hill when the Lions shot 52.9% from the field (the Rams shot 61.4% on FG).

WSSU Is...9-1 when they score the first points of a game. Last season WSSU was 11-6 when scoring first. WSSU liked to get ahead early and when they did posted an impressive 68.7% winning percentage when scoring first.

WSSU Was...Undefeated (7-0) when shooting 50% or better from behind the three-point arch. This season the Rams are 105 for 296 from behind the 3-point line (35.5%) and have won all three games in which they shot 50% or better from long range.

It's Never Happened...Since current Director of Sports Information, Chris Zona arrived at Winston-Salem State University in August of 2002, the only team that the Rams have not beaten at least once is the Saint Augustine's College Falcons. The Rams have beaten every other CIAA team at least once, and most of them twice. The Rams have not beaten Saint Augustine's since the 2001-02 season when WSSU defeated SAC twice in the regular season.