Tough times seem to stay with the for the Florida A&M men’s basketball team. The Rattlers lost to the Morgan State Bears on Sunday 64-98, but the Bears were not the only thing that gave the Rattlers trouble this weekend-“mother nature” also might have worked against them.
The game against the Bears (17-7 overall, 9-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) was slated for a 4 p.m. tip off on Saturday, but due to a snow storm and inclement weather across the Northeast, the tip off was rescheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday.
“Playing the game later was a little hard, it was different,” sophomore forward Yannick Crowder said. “But on the flipside, it gave us an extra day of rest.”
An extra day of rest still didn’t work in the Rattlers’ (5-17 overall, 2-7 in the MEAC) favor when they faced the top team in the MEAC. Some familiar faces for the Bears, sophomore forward Kevin Thompson and senior guard Reggie Holmes, dominated the game by providing major production.
Holmes led the way with 25 points, while Thompson contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Freshman forward Travis Wallace led the Rattlers in scoring with 14 points, despite coming off the bench. Crowder also made a solid contribution with 11 points and eight rebounds for FAMU.
Just as in all the games this year, the Rattlers’ effort was there, but failure to execute hindered them down the stretch and as a result, they came out flat against the conference’s toughest team.
“We just didn’t execute tonight, and when you’re playing the number on team in the MEAC you have to (execute) to be successful,” Crowder said.
The Rattlers may still have a little breathing room in the MEAC, but not much. FAMU will have another chance to get into the win column today when they take on the Coppin State University Eagles at 7:30 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.
The Eagles (0-9 overall, 5-16 in the MEAC) are the only winless team in the MEAC and they’re the only team in the Conference behind FAMU in the standings.
Coppin State has lost 14 games consecutively, and their last win came against the Loyola University (Md.) Greyhounds in a 63-58 overtime victory on Dec. 12.
The Rattlers have lost two games back to back, and they have still managed to squeeze out only one road victory this year.
A win against the Eagles is within reach, and it would also give the Rattlers some much needed momentum heading to the last quarter of their season.