Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team pulled off a big road upset Saturday evening over the Winston-Salem State University Rams 81-73.
With the victory, the Blue Bears improved to 12-5 overall, 7-3 in the CIAA and 3-1 in the division and move into a tie with the Rams for first place in the Southern Division. The Rams came into the contest as the fourth-ranked team in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings and fell to 15-4 overall, 8-3 in the conference and 3-1 in the division.
Donte Durant had his best offensive output of the season, leading the Blue Bears with 18 points. Darius Cox fell just short of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds while Quintin Redfern added 13 points with 11 of them coming at the charity stripe.
The opening 10 minutes of the game were a back and forth battle and the teams were deadlocked at 10-10 with 10:30 left. The Blue Bears then went on a 12-4 run to take a 22-14 lead over the Rams with 5:10 left in the first half. With just under two minutes left in the first half the Rams had gotten within six points, but Livingstone was able to finish the half on a 5-2 run to take a 33-24 lead into the break.
Winston-Salem State came out very aggressive to start the second half and in the first 3:10 of the second half was within three points at 35-32. Darius Cox gave the Blue Bears a big boost on the next possession. Cox blocked a Ram shot on the defensive end and then hit a 10-foot jumper to break the Ram run.
Livingstone continued to lead by five points with 14:19 left before a big 13-1 run gave the Blue Bears a 54-37 advantage with 9:43 remaining. Winston responded with a quick 5-0 run to get within 12, but Livingstone rattled off a 9-1 run to open up its largest lead of the contest of 20 points with 6:24 left.
The Rams were far from down and out on this contest as they fought back and fought back hard. With just under two minutes left the Rams had gotten back within seven at 70-63. Livingstone was able to keep Winston at bay with solid free-throw shooting in the final minutes. The Blue Bears hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:10 of the contest to solidify the victory.
The Blue Bears had a solid night shooting the ball as Livingstone hit 48.1 percent of its shots for the game including 54.2 percent in the first half. The Blue Bears went to the charity stripe 41 times, connecting on 28 of their attempts.
The Blue Bears will hit the road again on Monday when they head to Raleigh, NC for an 8 p.m. contest against the Bears of Shaw University.
