Rams Survive A Scare; Defeat Ferrum 61-55 Behind Tucker’s Career-High 16 Points
Pair Of Starters Sit Out To Rest Injuries; Rams Win Third Straight Contest
Chris Zona
12/20/07

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State University Rams survived a scare on Wednesday evening at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, NC as they defeated Ferrum College by the score of 61-55 en route to winning their third consecutive game for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

The Division I Rams fell behind to the Division III Panthers early in the contest as WSSU allowed Ferrum to open the game on an impressive 10-3 run over the course of the first six-and-a-half minutes of the contest.

It would take the Rams, a team playing their second game in three days, nearly 15 minutes to gain their first lead of the half, at 22-20, when fifth-year senior point guard Roy Peake hit a lay-up with 5:11 remaining in the first period.

“It is a dangerous situation, games like these” WSSU head coach Bobby Collins said in postgame interviews.  “They have nothing to lose and we have everything to lose.  We are supposed to win these games and if they win the game they have accomplished something special.”

The Rams would immediately build upon their lead using 14 first-half bench points to take a 35-27 lead at halftime.

Without the services of starting guards Darius Floyd (8.6 ppg and 2.4 rpg) and Brian Fisher (10.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg) who sat on the bench in street clothes due to injury, the Rams experienced difficulty with the pesky Panthers in the second half.

WSSU pushed their lead to a game-high 11 points following the opening possession of the second half only to see Ferrum hang around long enough to retake the lead at 53-51 with 5:19 remaining in the contest.

To The Rams’ credit, WSSU would close the contest on a 10-2 run over the final five minutes of play, eventually earning their fourth win of the season as they improved to 4-5 overall with the 61-55 victory.

The win moves the Rams to within one game of .500 at 4-5 overall while the Panthers fall to one game below .500 at 4-5 with the loss.

WSSU was led by Michael Puckett and Isiah Tucker who recorded 16 points each in the victory.  Ferrum was paced by Jon Godsey who recorded 16 points in a losing effort.

The Rams return to action on December 22 when they face the Wildcats of Kansas State University at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.