Boxscore

RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine's College gained perhaps its biggest men's basketball win in the two-year tenure of Head Coach Ken Spencer on Saturday (Jan. 28).

The Falcons knocked off Winston-Salem State University from the CIAA unbeaten ranks with a 61-55 victory before a spirited Emery Gymnasium crowd. The win pushed the Falcons' record to 11-7 overall, 6-2 in the CIAA and 1-1 in the Southern Division. Not bad for a team picked to finish last in the Southern Division in the preseason.

Redshirt sophomore forward Chris Johnson (Hampton, Va.) led a balanced scoring effort with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyron Laughinghouse (Greenville, N.C.) added 10 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a yeoman's effort off the bench.

Sophomore guard Joel Kindred (Raleigh, N.C.) added eight points and five rebounds, and junior point guard David Brown had eight points, eight assists and four rebounds for the Falcons. Justin Glover (14 points) was the only double figure scorer for the Rams, who fell to 14-3, 7-1 CIAA and 1-1 in the Southern Division.

Spencer was victorious in his third try against good friend and high school teammate Bobby Collins, the Rams' head coach. Spencer was a Rams assistant under Collins before coming to St. Aug. The Falcons did it with defense, holding the Rams to 32.7 percent shooting and forcing 24 turnovers. The Rams' ball handling miscues led to transition points by the Falcons which gave them a 28-14 edge in points in the paint. Two fast break baskets were spectacular alley-oop dunks to the Kindred brothers – Jon and Joel.

One of the alley-oops - Joel Kindred's two-hand dunk on the break - gave the Falcons a 48-44 lead with seven minutes in the second half. From that point, Laughinghouse took over. Laughinghouse scored eight points in the last seven minutes to hold off the Rams. He made the play of the game on defense, however, to help preserve the win.

With a minute left in the contest and the Falcons nursing a four-point lead, Laughinghouse sprung high to swat a shot near the backboard. The block not only prevented the Rams from pulling within two points, but it brought the sold-out crowd to its feet. Laughinghouse finished the play with a lay-up on the other end for a 59-53 lead with 56 seconds left.  After a Rams' tip-in by WyKevin Bazemore, Laughinghouse scored another layup to stretch the lead to six again with 35 seconds left, effectively wrapping up the game for the Falcons.

Despite three players 6-foot-6 or taller, the Falcons prevented the Rams from dominating inside. The Rams, boasting six players 6-foot-6 or taller, failed to score in the lane consistently.

Early on, the Rams led 17-9 on Tyre Desmore's jumper with 11:21 in the first half, but that was the Rams' last field goal until Bazemore's steal and dunk one second before halftime. In between baskets, the Falcons went on a 19-6 run. The Falcons entered the locker room leading 28-25 at halftime as the Rams shot 25 percent in the first half.

Late in the second half, the Falcons held the Rams without a field goal during a four-minute stretch. It enabled the Falcons to take home the win.

Catch the Falcons in action again Monday as they host Livingstone College in a CIAA Southern Division matchup. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Emery Gymnasium.

If you can't make the contest, watch the Falcons on WAUG-TV (Time Warner Digital Cable 168). Also follow the Falcons via live stats on www.saintaugfalcons.com