Florida A&M closed in and snatched victory from Morgan State on Saturday. Robert Blackburn/The Pit
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile the Morgan State Bears held the lead for the majority of the game, they were unable to get the separation needed to pull away.
Florida A&M (6-12, 2-3) managed to stay within reach and secure their first lead of the game with 5:31 remaining. The Rattlers held on to the lead down the stretch, making 17-of-23 free throws to secure a big conference win, 72-65.
Morgan State (3-14, 1-3) controlled the pace of the game deep into the second half. The Bears came out in a particularly slow pace, which caught the Rattlers off guard.
“Morgan caught us on a lot of things. We had to make changes and adjust, and we did that,” forward Malcom Bernard said.
The Rattlers, who struggled to get anything going on offense, were led by Treavann Warren, who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and shot 6-of-8 from the field. Forward Malcom Bernard racked up 12 points, five rebounds, and dished out eight assists.
Bernard had two big back-to-back steals, both ending in rim rattling dunks that had the AL Lawson center as loud as its been all season.
Bernard commented, saying, “They were impact plays to change the momentum of the game. It helped bring us energy and got over the hump.”
Morgan State’s loss was not due to lack of effort from leading scorer Cedric Blossom, who finished shooting 90-percent from the field with 18 points and seven rebounds. Resean Simpson also contributed 14 points of his own for the Bears, with 8 rebounds.
FAMU managed to create a couple key stops late before they took the lead, giving them the ability to control the pace of the game. FAMU was able to outscore Morgan State 22-12 in the paint in the second half after they were beat by the Bears 20-16 in the first.
When asked about changes at half time, coach Byron Samuels responded, “They fight. They’re listening and understanding what we want them to do.”
Samuels’ laughter and jokes during the press conference mirrored his attitude regarding the overall game.
“It’s great to get this victory. Our guys fought really hard, and that was the key to the game. We had pockets in the game that weren’t our best, but our guys continued to fight.”
FAMU will now turn their attention to Coppin State (2-14, 0-3), which will take place Monday at 8 P.M. at the AL Lawson Center.
