The Rattlers only got four points from their bench Monday night
Photo credit: Sydne Vigille
The Florida A&M men’s basketball team fell short 62-61 to Maryland Eastern Shore Monday night at the Hytche Athletic Center.
The Rattlers lost a very close game despite a late floater in the paint by senior guard Marcus Barhamto.
“As soon as I got the ball I just knew it was going to be good because I always make that shot”, said Barham.
After Barham’s clutch shot, Maryland Eastern Shore guard Logan McIntosh hit a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left to give his team the final lead of the game.
The contest is FAMU’s second loss by one point this season. Both teams were neck and neck throughout the night, tying the game up nine times and trading 12 lead changes.
The first half was an offensive struggle for both teams, as the Hawks went into halftime up 26-21.
Four minutes into the second half, senior guard, Desmond Williams responded with a offensive surge piling up the Rattlers first six points after the break, to tie the game at 31-31 and 33-33.
The Hawks (6-19, 2-8 MEAC) then went on a run of their own, resulting into a seven-point lead 42-35 with 13 minutes 45 seconds to go.
FAMU worked its way back to tie it at 44-44 and then 47-47, until Justin Ravenel rolled in a pair of free throws to give the Rattlers their first lead of the second half at the 7:35 mark.
FAMU led all the way up to the 4:08 mark until Ahmad Frost nailed a three making it a two point game.McIntosh drove through the Rattler defense for an and-one sequence to put the Hawks up 58-57 at the 2:00 mark.
With 1:21 to go Williams hit a pair of free throws to make it 60-58. Hawks freshman guard, Miryne Thomas, then knocked down a jumper with 53 seconds left to tie the game up at 60-60. The next FAMU possession Williams nailed another freethrow to retake a one-point lead. Which then led to McIntosh clutch free throws with six seconds left.
After the game senior guard Elijah Mayes expressed his thoughts on finishing their road games this season.
“We’re glad to be off the road. We have a chance to finish strong with most of our last 6 games being at home giving us more time to practice and prepare for our opponents,” said Mayes.
Frost led all scorers with 19 points, LeAndre Thomas posted his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Ravenel and Williams each had 17 points to lead the Rattlers, Barham added 15, and Mayes tallied 8 points.
The Rattlers (4-22, 3-7 MEAC) are now 11th in the MEAC with six games left in the season, all being conference games. Saturday the Rattlers will take on North Carolina Central at 6:00pm in the Al Lawson Center.