Men end regular season with OT win

After losing eight games out of their last nine, the Rattlers (8-18) earned a 63-61 overtime victory over Delaware State University Hornets (7-22) Monday night.

The victory had  the crowd who packed Gaither Gymnasium for the Florida A&M University Rattlers’ final game cheering in a loud, thunderous roar.  

The Rattlers and Hornets engaged in a seesaw battle in the first half, with each team exchanging leads. The Hornets employed several different schemes on defense that the Rattlers adjusted to well.

“Delaware’s defense was really disguised,” said senior Rattler Lamar Twitty. “We didn’t know if they were in man or zone at times. Coach just told us to move the ball around and make good passes inside.”

Both teams started the game hot from the field, with the Rattlers shooting 50 percent from the field, and the Hornets shooting 51 percent.

The Rattlers defensive pressure, forced 14 first half turnovers.

Although trailing the Hornets 27-26 headed into halftime, the Rattlers gained momentum on Lamar Twitty’s thunderous two hand dunk that brought the raucous crowd to its feet.

The two teams sharp shooting continued in the second half. The Hornets attack was led by guard Donald Johnson, who scored 10 points, and went 2 for 3 from behind the three-point arc. Johnson leads the MEAC from three-point territory with 59 three-pointers.

Johnson along with fellow teammate Fred Bouie, who also contributed with 12 points, were the only Hornets to finish in double figures.

The pair combined to score from beyond the three-point line.

Sophomore Larry Jackson enjoyed one his best games of the season. The 6’6″ Chattahoochee native broke out with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists, including a key basket at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.

Senior forward Twitty made his presence known on senior night, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds and two assists in what would be his final game in front of the Rattler faithful.

The Hornets trailed the Rattlers by as many as nine points, but fought back to within three in the final minutes.

Rattler fans began to celebrate prematurely with the team up with just seven seconds on the clock.

Donald Johnson hit a three-pointer for the Hornets and tied the game 56-56. The Rattlers managed to get off a final shot before the buzzer, but were unsuccessful and the game went into overtime.

“I never doubted that we could win,” said senior guard Joe Ballard. “Being that we’ve been in a few overtime situations before, we knew that it was just a matter of keeping our composure.”

During overtime both teams struggled to gain the upper hand.

The Rattlers found themselves on defense and leading 63-60 with just minutes to go. The Rattlers committed a potentially costly foul but Terrence Parkes failed to take advantage of the mistake as the Hornets forward hit just 1 of 3 free throws.

After losing its last seven games, The Rattlers(8-18) finally earned a 63-61 overtime victory over Delaware State University Hornets(7-22) Monday night.

The victory didn’t disappoint the capacity crowd who packed Gaither Gymnasium for the Rattlers final game in the gym.       

The Rattlers and hornets engaged in a seesaw battle in the first half, with each team exchanging leads. The Hornets employed several different schemes on defense that The Rattlers adjusted well too.    

“Delaware’s defense was really disguised,” said senior Rattler Lamar Twitty. “We didn’t know if they were in man or zone at times. Coach just told us to move the ball around and make good passes inside.”   

Both teams started the game hot from the field, with The Rattlers shooting 50 percent from the field, and the Rams shooting 51 percent.    

The Rattlers defensive pressure, forced 14 first half turnovers.   

Although trailing the Hornets 27-26 headed into halftime, the Rattlers gained momentum on Lamar Twitty’s thunderous two hand dunk that brought the raucous crowd to its feet.   

The two teams sharp shooting continued in the second half. The Hornets attack was led by guard Donald Johnson, who scored 10 points, and went 2 for 3 from behind the three-point arc. Johnson leads the MEAC from three-point territory with 59 three-pointers.   

Johnson along with fellow teammate Fred Bouie, who also contributed with 12 points, were the only Hornets to finish in double figures.    

The pair combined to score from beyond the three-point line.   

Sophomore Larry Jackson enjoyed one his best games of the season. The 6’6″ Chattahoochee native broke out with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, including a key basket at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.   

Senior forward Twitty made his presence known on senior night , scoring 17 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and 2 assists in what would be his final game in front of the Rattler faithful. 

The Hornets trailed the Rattlers by as many as 9 points, but fought back to within three in the final minutes.    

Rattler fans began to celebrate prematurely with the team up with just seven seconds on the clock.    

Donald Johnson hit a three-pointer for the Hornets and tied the game 56-56. The Rattlers managed to get off a final shot before the buzzer, but were unsuccessful and the game went into overtime.   

“I never doubted that we could win,” said senior guard Joe Ballard. “Being that we’ve been in a few overtime situations before, we knew that it was just a matter of keeping our composure.”   

During overtime both teams struggled to gain the upper hand.

The Rattlers found themselves on defense and leading 63-60 with just minutes to go. The Rattlers committed a potentially costly foul on a three pointer with less than two minutes left on the game clock.   

Terrence Parkes failed to take advantage of the mistake as the forward hit just 1 of 3 free throws.