Senior guard Justin Ravenel shooting a corner three against Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 19.
Sydne Vigille | The Famuan
After an upsetting 60-58 loss on Saturday afternoon against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, the Florida A&M Rattlers managed to bounce back and dominate the court in a 60-47 victory against Delaware State on Monday afternoon. Senior guard Justin Ravenel (Guard) shined brightly in both games.
Early in the game on Saturday night, the Rattlers collectively attacked the ball by beginning with a zone defense that helped in setting the tone.
Despite the pressure and fast pace of the Hawks, with the help of his teammates, Ravenel managed to make six out of the 15 field goals he attempted (including 3-point field goals), made both free throws he attempted and added two steals on top of all that.
With the opposing team keying in on Ravenel, it was difficult for him to find very many open look, but he did not fold, and he utilized his teammates and fought it well.
“I told the guys at half time, it’s gonna [going to] be a dog fight, they’re not going to lay down, and we’re not going to lay down so coming into the second half, I knew we were [going to] fight. Claw and scratch to try and wear them down.”
The Rattlers did just that in the second half. Although they did not win Saturday’s game, they came back better and stronger than ever on Monday game against DSU.
Following Monday afternoon’s game Coach McCullum said, “I’m extremely proud of my guys for bouncing back from a disappointing loss Saturday; I felt they did a very good job in such a short period of time.”
McCullum stated that the team did not allow the loss of Saturday’s game to linger on.
With great defense and communication with his teammates, Ravenel was able to rack up points in a big way. He made 7 out of his 17 attempted field goals, all three of his free throws and a total of 4 defensive rebounds.
Ravenel had a total of 21 points from Monday’s game.
In the week ahead, the Rattlers will be flying to Baltimore to take on Coppin State University.