Although last night’s game was billed as “Senior Night,” several underclassmen came through for Winston- Salem State as it eked out a 68-65 victory over Norfolk State in the LJVM Annex.
Junior Jamal Durham led the Rams with 17 points and added seven rebounds, while freshman Paul Davis finished with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Brian Fisher scored just three points, but he also came up with two crucial steals in the final minute to help the Rams hold off the Spartans. NSU guard Tony Murphy finished with a team-high 15 points.
The Rams were down 59-54 with 4:31 left to play in the second half before going on a 7-1 run in the next 2:17 to take a 61-60 lead on the second of Davis’ free throw attempts. After catching the inbound pass, NSU guard Rashid Cann had the ball stripped by Fisher who was able to cash it in for a layup, giving the Rams a 63-60 lead with 2:13 to play.
With 1:44 remaining, senior guard Roy Peake stepped to the free throw line and sank both free throws to give the Rams a 65-62 lead. Before the Spartans could get the ball across half-court, Fisher managed to come up with the ball again, forcing the Spartans to foul. The Rams took a 67-62 lead on a Peake free throw with 30 seconds to go. NSU’s Kevin Worsley hit a fade away three-pointer with six seconds remaining. Tucker was then fouled, but hit only one of two free-throws, giving NSU a chance to tie, but the Spartans prayer could not connect.
The game was a physical contest from start to finish. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, as the teams shot an identical 9 for 28 from the field (32.1 percent) in the first half. The game was tied at 23 heading into halftime.
In the second half, both teams found their rhythm as the Spartans shot 56.3 percent and the Rams shot a blazing 64 percent. The difference proved to be outside shooting, the Rams shot 50 percent to the Spartans 20 percent for the game, and free throws. The Rams, 14 of 19 attempts in the second half while the Spartans made just 5 of 11 during that span.
Ironically enough, the free throw line has been one of the Rams’ biggest weaknesses this season, as they’ve shot just 61 percent as a team for the year. Head coach Bobby Collins was pleased with the Rams performance from the line.
“This is a team that’s really starting to believe that we can win down the stretch,” said Collins. “We hit our free throws when it mattered.”
The win was the Rams’ second in a row, and third in their last four games. The win improved WSSU’s record to 11-15, and gave them a final home record of 9-5. The Spartans(14-12) came into the game ranked second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 10-3 conference record and although the game had no effects on conference records, Collins was all smiles after the game.
“We really defended when it was time for it, we made some big stops,” Collins said. “I’m proud of the team.”
Collins also took time out to praise freshmen Tucker and Davis for their growth since the start of the season.
“They really have grown, I’m on Isaiah every day and every game as you can see. I’m just waiting on him mature into that total point guard for us. And Paul, what can I say about him? He just played hard , he’s done a lot of good things for us.”
On the other end of the spectrum, senior forward Darrell Wonge finished with eight points and four rebounds and Peake finished with 12 points and four rebounds. After the game, Peake said his focus on the task at hand, not on the fact that it was his final game in Winston-Salem.
“I just wanted to win,” Peake said. “That was the biggest inspiration to today’s game.”