Rattlers fall to Eagles in double overtime battle

The Rattlers achieved their 17th loss to the Coppin State Eagles in Baltimore, Maryland on Jan. 9. It was a tough fought battle that gave them their first overtime series of the season. Senior Rattler guard Marcus Barham had 19 points in 49 minutes, shooting 4-17, which tied Coppin State junior forward Chad Andrews-Fulton for the most points in a game. Three other Rattlers scored in double digits including Desmond Williams (18), Justin Ravenel (11), and Elijah Mayes (18). Junior Rattler forward Nick Severado also led the game in rebounds.

The rattlers were outscored in the first half but they made a major come back after the Eagles had the largest lead of the game (9 points) at 46-37 close to the middle of the second half, but with nine minutes and 25 seconds left in the second half the Rattler defense forced them without a field goal for the rest of the game. The Rattlers went for a 9-0 run to retake the lead (56-52) then the Eagles hit five free throws to take it back. With a couple foul shots from Marcus Barham, the game was tied by the end of regulation.

Elijah Mayes and Coppin State’s Taqwain Drummond exchanged baskets in nearly the last minute to end the first overtime tied at 67.

The Eagles Chad Andrew-Fulton scored the final point off of a layup with 12 seconds left in double overtime to end the game and beat the Rattlers 79-78 to end Coppin State’s 20 game losing streak.

“We could’ve done a better job of taking care of the ball and playing better defense,” senior guard Elijah Mayes said about the loss.

“We needed to string together stops defensively and we didn’t get it done tonight. We are much better defensively than we showed tonight."

The leading rebounder of the game, Rattler’s Nick Severado, stated that they could have made “more hustle plays."

“We fought hard from behind just didn’t get it done.” said Severado.

The tied-second leading scorer of the game, Desmond Williams, stressed the importance of defense during his comments regarding the game.

“It all starts and ends with defense. We have to stop teams from scoring, especially in the clutch moments."

When asked about the teams upcoming rivalry against BCU Williams said “we need to play harder, smarter, tougher, and for longer periods of time."