The Florida A&M Rattlers defeated the Albany State Rams Thursday night. The Rattlers as lost to an exhibition game against Rams last year.
FAMU got off slow start in the first half but picked up the intensity and in the second half; they went on 13-5 run midway through the second half to put the game away. The Rattlers led 40-36 at halftime despite having 14 turnovers. In the first half as the team was 2-8 in the first half from the three-point line and shot only 58 percent from the free throw line as they were 10 for 17.
Freshman point guard Jamie Adams was pleased with the Rattlers’ victory. Adams said despite the win the team still has a lot of work to do. Adams finished with 15 points and two steals.
“We knew Albany State was coming to play us tough,” Adams said. “We were more consistent in the second half and we took care of the ball for the most part.”
Transfer Guard Muham Abdul- Aleem provided a spark off the benchfor the team. He had 10 points and three rebounds. He said chemistry is most important.
“The team chemistry is very high and we were ready for this game,” Abdul-Aleem said. “Our chemistry started to pick up in the second half because we were getting used to the plays.”
The Rattlers held the Rams to 36 percent shooting for the game 13 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Rattlers shot 62 percent from the free throw line and shot 47 percent from the field. They out rebounded the Rams 50-31 with 22 offensive rebounds. This was a good start for the team, which has nine new players.
Coach Clemon Johnson was pleased with the team’s progress.
“This win felt great because they beat us last year,” Johnson said. We did a great job outrebounding in and this is just a start but we have to get better.”
“We have a collection of individuals and the new players we brought in to run this style I wanted to run last year,” said Johnson. We wanted to run up and down the court but now we have the players to run.”
The Rattlers start the season on the road next Friday as they go to Houston, Texas to take on the Houston Cougars.