Trio Of Former Rams Help CIAA All-Stars Hand SBA Stars First Ever Loss

Raleigh, NC - Records are made to be broken, or so the cliché goes, and that is exactly what the CIAA All-Stars did on Saturday afternoon at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC as they handed the SBA (Street Basketball Association) All-Stars their first-ever loss on American soil by the score of 122-118 in double-overtime.

The CIAA All-Stars were comprised of ten players, nine of whom were former players from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's 12 member institutions. (Rosters listed below). Amongst those ten players were three former WSSU Rams, leading all CIAA institutions. Larry Patterson, Marcus Best, and Shawn Alexander, all former Rams, all turned in spectacular performances in the contest.

They were taking on some of the most exciting streetballers in the world from the SBA, many of whom have been featured on the AND 1 Tour, ESPN Street Ball Tour, EBC Rucker Park, Nike Battle Grounds Tour, MTV/Magic Johnson "Who's Got Game", NBATV Street Ball, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Sprit Liquid Mix Tour among others.

The game was a fan extravaganza as there were high-flying acrobatics and thunderous dunks. However, the multitudes in attendance at the RBC Center saw the CIAA All-Stars jump out ahead as they took a 16-point lead into the locker room at the halftime intermission. It was the outside shooting of former WSSU Ram Larry Patterson (34 points) and former Bowie State Bulldog Randy "White Chocolate" Gill (29 points), coupled with the inside dominance of former St. Augustine's College Falcon Charles Ward (12 points) that gave the CIAA All-Stars the lead.

The second half of play saw the SBA All-Stars come out flying as several rim-rocking dunks by John "Helicopter" Humphries who has a 50-plus inch vertical leap, got the SBA All-Stars back in the game, and gave them back the lead.

It was the CIAA All-Stars that showed poise as they stared at a three-point deficit with under 20 seconds to go. Former Winston-Salem State University Rams Larry Patterson calmly took a 21-footer from the left side of the court and buried the three-pointer to tie the game.

A foul on the other end of the court, and the ensuing free throws gave the SBA All-Stars the lead back, as they clung to a two-point cushion with 4.2 seconds to play. A Charles Ward (St. Augustine's College) layup as time expired sent the game to its first extra frame.

The first overtime was a see-saw affair that saw history repeat itself as the CIAA All-Stars again found themselves trailing by two points as time wound down. Again it was Ward who dunked home the equalizer and sent the game to a second overtime.

The CIAA All-Stars then shut the SBA All-Stars down and eventually emerged victorious by the score of 122-118 as they were able to hand the SBA All-Stars their first ever loss on American soil.

Leading the way for the CIAA team was team MVP Larry Patterson who tallied 34 points, as he buried 10 three-point field goals.