WINSTON-SALEM, NC – WSSU won the CIAA title in 2023, but the year started with a blowout loss to Virginia State in Petersburg. Junior point guard Issac Parson and his teammates got a reminder of that loss ahead of Saturday’s contest in C.E. Gaines Center.
“This was a big game for us being in last year that we got blown out by them and we wanted to get our face back like Coach Hill said in the locker room,” Parson said after the game.
The message clearly hit its mark as WSSU pulled away for a 76-62 win over Virginia State. Parson led the way with 25 points, five rebounds and six assists with two steals in the win. Hill said that’s no surprise given how hard he works.
“I think Isaac is probably the hardest-working basketball player I’ve had since I’ve been coaching. He’s always in the gym really, really on his cardio,” Hill said after the game. “He’s probably the most conditioned athlete I’ve had and he’s a great film study. He likes to watch film, so I think…I know he’s definitely the best point guard in our league and probably amongst the top in Division II.”
WSSU’s leading scorer, Jaylen Alston, had a solid game with 15 points and nine rebounds as WSSU shot 46.7 percent from the field for the game and 60 percent from the second half. He was part of the Rams 1-2 punch inside along with big man Imajae Dodd who nearly finished with a triple double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go with a season-high eight blocks.
The Rams also got a big lift from sophomore guard KC Shaw. Shaw scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds after scoring 18 points in the blowout win over Elizabeth City State on Thursday. Hill says that Shaw benefitted heavily from being a key part of last year’s CIAA title squad as a freshman in 2023.
“I think winning a championship and being a starter, I think that did some things for him as well as being injured for that first game of the NCAA tournament,” Hill said. “I thought that did some things that kind of fueled his fire during the course of the summer. I thought he worked on his ball handling, I thought he worked on his shooting. He was already a very solid defensive player. Now I think he’s a great defensive player at this level. So definitely, definitely proud of KC and the strides he’s made.”
WS is now 11-3 overall, 5-0 in CIAA play which does not include a non-conference game against Virginia Union. It and has won six games in a row as it prepares for a week off before opening CIAA Southern Division play next weekend at Johnson C. Smith.
“This is this is a low-key group. They don’t get too high. They don’t get too low,” Hill said of his team. “But the (CIAA) Southern Division is tough. A whole lot of CIAA championship coaches in our division. So it’s going to be tough on a daily basis, game-to-game basis. But I think we’ll be fine.”