Feb. 27, 2006

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Winston-Salem State University men's basketball team will open play in the 2006 CIAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 versus Saint Paul's College looking for their 11^th CIAA title.  The Rams, who are competing in the CIAA Tournament for the final time before leaving the ranks of Division II and moving towards Division I membership as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference will try close out CIAA membership with their 11^th title, second-most all time behind Virginia Union University and their 16 titles.

Setting The Scene...It's tournament time for the Rams.  WSSU will return after a five-day layoff as they attempt to win their 11^th CIAA Championship.  The Rams, who have not won a title since 2001, will have to do it the hard way if they look to win their 11^th trophy.  In order for the Rams to capture the title they will have to win four games as they missed a first-round bye by only one game.  WSSU will face Saint Paul's College with the winner advancing to play the Bulldogs of Bowie State University on Thursday at 1:00 pm.  The 18-9 Rams will face the 11-16 Tigers in the third of four games to be played on Wednesday in opening-round men's action (7:00 pm).

What To Watch For...The Rams will look to try to capture their 11^th and final CIAA title this season as 2006 marks the Rams' final CIAA Tournament before departing the conference to enter NCAA Division I and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  The Rams currently have the second-most CIAA titles with ten, trailing only Virginia Union University who has captured 16 championships.  Junior forward Audly Wehner will look to score his 1000^th career point as he needs only 24 more to reach the 1,000-point plateau.  WSSU will say goodbye to three seniors who will be playing in their final game as guard Corey Parker (Jacksonville, NC), guard/forward Frank Johnson (Washington, DC) and Charlotte, NC native, and guard Alleggrie Guinn (two-time All-CIAA guard) play their final games as Rams.

The Matchup...Next up for the Rams will be the Tigers of Saint Paul's College on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 7:00 pm from the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, NC.  The Rams are the #3 seed in the CIAA Western Division which earns them a meeting with the #6 seeded Saint Paul's College Tigers of the CIAA Eastern Division.  Game time is slated for a 7:00 pm tip-off.  WSSU has won nine straight meetings over the Tigers and has won 10 of the last 11 contests versus Saint Paul's dating back to the 1996-97 season.  WSSU head coach Philip Stitt has never lost to the Tigers while head coach at Winston-Salem State.  The Rams have lost in the CIAA Tournament first round only once under Stitt.  WSSU reached the third semifinals in 2004-05 before falling in defeat to eventual CIAA and NCAA Champion Virginia Union University.

WSSU Update...The Rams are riding a five-game win streak as they enter into the CIAA Tournament on a tear.  WSSU has not lost a game since dropping a 90-68 contest to the Falcons of Saint Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC on February 7, 2006.  The Rams reeled off wins at #14 Johnson C. Smith (81-57 on February 11), versus Livingstone (60-49 on February 14), at Fayetteville State (76-58 on February 19), versus North Carolina Central (59-51 on February 21) and versus Edward Waters (89-61 on February 23) to close the regular season on a five-game win streak.  The five game win streak is the second longest of the season as WSSU longest such streak was a six-game span from January 10, 2006 until January 26, 2006.

WSSU's Last Action...Vs. Edward Waters (2/23/06)... The Winston-Salem State University Rams closed out the 2005-06 regular season on Thursday evening at the C.E. Gaines Center with a convincing 89-61 win over the Tigers of Edward Waters College in a non-conference basketball game.  WSSU opened the game with a 7-0 run to pull ahead as they never trailed in the contest en route to the win, their 18^th of the season.  The Tigers mounted a charge late in the first half that cut WSSU's lead to only six points at the halftime intermission, yet EWC would get no closer the rest of the way.  WSSU started the second half with a 13-2 run as the Rams saw their lead continue to grow, eventually reaching a game-high 29 points at 89-60 with 2:24 left in the contest.  Alleggrie Guinn finished the contest with a game-high 22 points as he turned in a seven-of-eleven shooting performance from the field (three-of-six from three-point range).  He added six rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks in 27 minutes of work.  Ulysses Bain led the Tigers with 20 points in the loss as he connected on four three-point field goals for Edward Waters.  With the win, the Rams move to 18-9 overall (10-6 CIAA, 6-4 CIAA West) as they close the regular-season with five consecutive wins.  Edward Waters College falls to 5-21 on the season with the loss. 

First In Shooting...The Rams enter into the 2006 CIAA Tournament ranked first in the CIAA in shooting percentage as they are hitting 48.0% of their shots.  WSSU has shot 50% or better from the field in 10 of their last 14 games and has posted an 11-3 mark over that stretch. 

RAMping Up The Scoring...The Rams, usually known as a staunch defensive team, have been getting it done on the offensive end of the court as well.  WSSU is ranked sixth in the CIAA in scoring offense heading into the 2006 CIAA Tournament as the Rams are averaging 72.7 points per game.  Saint Augustine's College leads the CIAA in scoring offense with 86.8 points per game. (WSSU defeated the Falcons 98-90 on January 10 and fell in defeat to SAC 90-68 on February 7).

Turnover Differential...The Rams, a great defensive team, come into the CIAA Tournament ranked first in the CIAA in turnover margin as the Rams are turning in a plus (+) 3.04 turnover ratio.  The Rams are averaging 15.9 turnovers per game while forcing 19.0 opponent turnovers.  WSSU has forced 482 opponent turnovers already this season.

Hot From Deep...For the second straight season the Rams are atop the CIAA in shooting from three-point range.  WSSU is ranked first in the conference in 3-point field goal shooting as the Rams are hitting 40.0% of their long range attempts, the only CIAA team to crack the 40% plateau.  WSSU has converted 164 of 410 attempts from behind the three-point line. 

'Tis Better To Give Than Receive...WSSU's Roy Peake is currently ranked second in the CIAA in assists with 5.33 helpers per game.  Peake has recorded 144 assists through 27 games this season.  More importantly, Peake leads the CIAA in assist-to-turnover ratio as Peake averages 3.69 assists per turnover as he has collected 144 assists and only 39 turnovers in 27 total games.  He is averaging 5.33 assists per game and only 1.4 turnovers per contest.  Teammate Alleggrie Guinn is eighth in the CIAA in the same category as he is averaging 1.35 assists per turnover.

Your Boy Roy And His Sidekick Bizzie...Roy Peake, WSSU's sophomore point guard, and teammate Alleggrie "Bizzie" Guinn are a pair of the best thieves in the CIAA.  Guinn leads the CIAA in steals with 2.22 takeaways per game while Peake is third in thefts with 2.04 per contest.  The Rams have three of the top 15 steal-collectors in the league as Corey Parker is 15^th in the conference with 1.54 steals per game.

Preseason Bests...Senior guard Alleggrie Guinn, and previously injured junior forward Audly Wehner were both named to the Pre-Season All-CIAA team as they were recognized as two of the 12 best players from around the CIAA.  Unfortunately for the Rams, Wehner missed the first half of the 2005-06 season due to rehabilitation needs following off-season surgery to repair a torn quadriceps muscle.  He returned to action for WSSU 16 games ago, and since his return, the Rams are a near-flawless 13-3.

Theft artists...Last season, the Rams averaged a CIAA-best 18.8 steals per game.  This season, the Rams are again at the top of the conference in thefts as they are averaging 9.96 steals per game and have tallied 269 total steals through 27 games in 2005-06.  WSSU turned in a season-high 23 steals versus Tusculum College in their win over the South Atlantic Conference defending champions.  The 9.96 steals per game places the Rams first in the CIAA in steals per game ahead of second-place the Falcons of Saint Augustine's College who average 9.56 steals per contest.

Team League Leaders...The Rams lead the league in field goal percentage (48.0%), three-point field goal percentage (.400), rebounding defense (28.9 rpg), assists per game (17.85 apg), steals (9.96 spg), turnover margin (+3.04 tpg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.12 assists/turnovers), and home attendance (3,521 fans per game).

Home Attendance Leader...The Rams lead the CIAA in home attendance as WSSU has seen 52,815 fans pass through the doors to watch the Rams in action this season.  Those 52,815 fans, over the span of 15 home games, averages out to 3,521 fans per game, tops in the conference.  Versus Johnson C. Smith University on Saturday, January 28, 2006 the Rams had nearly 6,000 fans pack into the Joel Coliseum Annex marking the largest crowd in the venue for any event since the buildings grand-opening in August of 1989.

Injury Update...Heading into the CIAA Tournament the Rams have no significant injuries to report.  WSSU has benefited greatly from the return of previously-injured forward Audly Wehner as they are 13-3 since his return 16 games ago.  Wehner missed the first 10 games of the season due to rehabilitation needs following off-season surgery to repair a torn quadriceps muscle. 

Hot Shooting...The Rams are currently sporting an 13-1 record this season when they shoot 50% or better from the field.  The Rams have hit 50% or more of their field goal attempts in 10 of the last 14 games, all but three of which were WSSU wins for a record of 11-3 over that span. 

From Deep...The Rams are sporting a perfect 7-0 record when they hit at least 50% of their three-point field goal attempts in a contest.  WSSU is averaging 40.0% from deep this season, good enough to rank first in the CIAA in three-point shooting.  The Rams are an astounding 14-3 this season when they successfully convert at least five three-point field goals in a game.

Tough CIAA...The Panthers of Virginia Union University a member of the CIAA's Eastern Division are once again back on top of the Division II national polls as the Panthers are receiving 11 first-place votes with an 22-3 record.  The defending NCAA Division II national champions are cruised through the CIAA Eastern Division and are the Easter Division's #1 seed in the CIAA tournament.  Johnson C. Smith and Saint Augustine's College have all received national rankings this season making the CIAA one of the most difficult conferences in NCAA Division II.

Blowing Them Out, Not Getting Blown Out...The Rams have defeated six opponents this season by 17 points or more.  However, the Rams have only been beaten by 17 or more points twice.  The Rams are doing the blowing out of teams, not getting blown out by them.

WSSU Likes To Score First...The Rams are 11-1 this season when they score the first points of the game.  When the Rams allow their opponents to score first they are one game under .500 at 7-8 this season.

Ahead At The Half...The Rams are a perfect 13-0 this season when they lead their opponent at the halftime intermission.  WSSU has yet to let a game slip away after earning a lead headed to the locker room at the break.

1,000 Point Watch...Junior forward Audly Wehner currently has 976 career points for the Rams, despite being only a junior, and despite missing half of this season due to injury.  Wehner tallied 396 points his rookie season when he was named CIAA Rookie of the Year and tallied 395 points last season in a sophomore campaign that saw him earn All-CIAA First-Team honors.  If he continues to score at his current rate, he will break the 1,000 point mark in the second-round of the 2006 CIAA Tournament versus Bowie State, should the Rams advance that far.  Teammate Alleggrie Guinn broke the 1,000-point plateau halfway through last season.  Guinn has scored 1,491 points through his 114 games as a Ram for an average of 12.97 points per game.  He currently ranks eight on WSSU's all-time scoring list.  Earl "The Pearl" Monroe leads WSSU's all-time mark with 2,935.  Guinn needs only 36 points to move ahead of Larry Patterson on the all-time list and move into seventh place. 

CIAA All-Rookie Forward Jamal Durham...The 2006 CIAA Basketball All-Rookie teams have been announced as voted on by the CIAA-Sports Information Directors' Association, and WSSU's Jamal Durham has been named as one of the five members of the 2006 team, continuing a tradition of excellent newcomers to play at Winston-Salem State University.  Durham, a true freshman forward from Winston-Salem, NC is second in the CIAA in rookie scoring with 10.3 points per game and ranks second in the CIAA in rookie rebounding with 4.2 boards per contest. He has started every game for the Rams in 2005-06 and has led WSSU in scoring five times. A forward who is converting on nearly 46% of his field goal attempts, he was named the CIAA Rookie of the Week on January 17, 2006. For his accomplishments, he has been named to the CIAA All-Rookie team.  Durham is the fourth CIAA All-Rookie Team member from WSSU to appear on the team in three seasons.  Alleggrie Guinn earned the honor in 2002-03, Audly Wehner earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2003-04, and Roy Peake earned the honor last season.

Winning The Boards...The Rams, one of the smallest teams in the CIAA in terms of height, are an impressive 10-2 when winning the battle of the boards.  The Rams have out-rebounded a dozen opponents and have posted a 10-2 record when doing so.

Wild Wednesday...The Rams will begin the 2006 CIAA Tournament on a Wednesday evening (March 1, 2006).  The Rams have played only one game on a Wednesday this season.  However, the Rams earned a win on that Wednesday evening to earn a 1-0 mark this season when playing a contest on Wednesday.

Neutral Unknown...The Rams' first-round tournament contest versus the Tigers of Saint Paul's College will mark WSSU's first neutral-site game of the 2005-06 season.  Last season the Rams posted a 4-4 neutral-site record (includes CIAA and NCAA Tournament games).