WINSTON-SALEM, NC – South Carolina State used a late 11-3 run to break open a close game and went on to an 86-73 win over Winston-Salem State Thursday night at the Gaines Center.
SC State connected on 56.9 percent of its shots from the field in the non-conference contest which began two hours late due to problems with the floor at the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum (LJVM). The contest had to be moved to the WSSU campus.
The Bulldog victory, which avenged a 68-62 setback to the Rams Dec. 6 in Orangeburg, concluded the regular season for Coach Tim Carter’s team, which improved to 16-13 on the season.
SC State had earlier finished its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule at 10-6 to earn the second seed in the league tournament which begins Tuesday at LJVM. The Bulldogs’ first action will be Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday’s match-up between number seven Hampton and 10th-seeded Delaware State.
Senior Jason Johnson had 22 points on 8-11 shooting to lead the Bulldogs in the Ram victory. Junior Jason Flagler added 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Also in double figures for SC State were Jimmy Williams with 16 points, along with eight boards, and Josh Jackson with 12 points.
The Rams were led by Jamal Durham with 16 points, but only two in the second half, and Jemarcus McClinton with 14 and a team-high seven rebounds. Brian Fisher added 11 points and Isiah Tucker 10 in the loss.
The Bulldogs, who led 46-42 at the half, built a 69-59 advantage with 8:52 to play on a lay-up by Williams. The host Rams closed the gap to five three times, the last time at 77-72 on a lay-up by Durham with 2:09 remaining.
Johnson was true of two attempts from the line for SC State to ignite a 9-1 run that put the victory away for the Bulldogs.
The first half was closely-contested, with nine lead changes and eight ties.
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