Rams Rally in Overtime for 84-76 Win Over Flagler
Trevin Q. Goodwin 12/29/10

Carter scores 32 points to power WSSU to fifth straight win

WINTER PARK, FL – The Winston-Salem State Rams (5-0) pulled out all the stops on their way to an impressive 84-76 overtime win over the Flagler Saints (6-2) in the opening game of the 36th Annual Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament. The win was a hard-fought one for the Rams as the team battled past a long-layoff and a talented Saints team to pick up their fifth straight win of the season.

“Being off 25 days, I was extremely pleased with the effort that we gave,” WSSU men’s basketball head coach Bobby Collins said following the game. “Flagler was a very good basketball team. I thought we played hard and we gave great effort to get the win.”

After not playing a game in 25 days, there were few signs of rust as the Rams scored a season-high 84 points in the game and shot a scorching hot 46.2% from the field, including connecting on 10-of-24 three-pointers in the game. It was redshirt-senior guard Shelton Carter who led the way for the Rams with a career-high 32 points in the game. Carter connected on eight three-pointers in the game. “I thought we gave a great effort all around, but Shelton definitely stepped up today,” Collins added. Senior forward Paul Davis also had a stellar game with his second straight double-double effort with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocked shots.

The game was a hard-fought effort from the very beginning with neither team leading by more than five points through the first half of play. Midway through the first half, the Rams battled their way to a three-point lead when at Carter three-pointer at the 12:04 mark left the Rams ahead 20-17. But the WSSU lead would not last long as the Saint tied game 23-23 with just over seven minutes left to play. Down the stretch of the half, the Rams were able to push their way to a five-point lead when junior forward Michael Bland hit a free throw at the 5:57 mark to put the Rams ahead, 28-23. The five-point cushion marked the largest lead of the half by either team, but it would not last long as a late surge by the Saints left the game tied 35-35 at halftime.

The shoe ended up on the other foot early in the second half as it was the Rams who had to claw their way from behind with Flagler mounting a 45-42 lead in the first two minutes of the half. A Davis dunk at the 16:34 mark gave the Rams their first second half lead while a Carter three-pointer gave the Rams a four-point lead, 51-47 with 15:18 left in the half. The Rams ran into some struggles midway through the half as team found themselves trailing 65-56 with 6:54 left in the half. Down the stretch of the game, the Rams mounted a furious comeback, outscoring the Saints, 16-6 in the final minutes of the half to tie the game and send it into overtime. Redshirt-sophomore forward Stephon Platt hit a lay-up with twelve seconds left to put the Rams ahead 72-71, but a Flagler free throw in the final seconds of the game left the score tied and sent the game into overtime.

The Rams played with new life in the overtime period as the team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Carter scored his 29th point of the game on a lay-up with 4:02 left to play. The score put the Rams ahead 76-74, a lead that the team would never relinquish. With a lead intact, the Rams turned up their defensive efforts and held Flagler to just two more points and outscored the Saints, 8-2 to close out the victory.

“I thought this game was a carbon copy of the game that we played at Catawba,” Collins said. “We went down late, but we came back and won by eight. Being able to do that definitely shows the amount of character on this team.”

With the win, the Rams advance to the championship game of the 36th Annual Winter Park Tangerine Tournament and will await the winner of the Rollins/Washington Adventist game. The Rams will play at 7:00 p.m.