[dropcap]A[/dropcap] late push from the Florida A&M Rattlers was not enough to make up for a sloppy first half against Coppin State.
The Eagles, who desperately needed a win to keep them in the conference hunt, secured one Monday night on the road in Tallahassee 70-66.
With a first half full of runs, the Rattlers (6-13, 2-4) and the Eagles (4-14, 2-3) traded the lead five times. Both teams constantly fought to gain momentum and pull away from the other. Coppin State managed to put some distance between themselves and the rattlers during their 6-0 run early in the first.
Malcom Bernard, who finished the game for the Rattlers with 16 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds, ended the run by blocking a Coppin State mid-range jumper. He was able to take it coast to coast for an easy finger roll layup, firing up the crowd and fueling a FAMU 7-0 run.
Coppin State ended the first half ahead 28-24. However, both teams struggled with free throws throughout the first half. Florida A&M put up a goose egg from the charity strike, going 0-11, while the Eagles went 1-4.
“Sometimes you win and deserve it and sometimes you lose and deserve it. Going 0-11 in the first half, you can’t win basketball games that way,” head coach Byron Samuels remarked.
Coppin State and Florida A&M once again traded shots early in the second half, trying to gain some separation. Coppin State ran different forms of a zone defense throughout the second, creating problems for the Rattlers, who were unable to get the ball in the paint and convert.
The Eagles missed back to back jumpers from the perimeter, followed by another blocked from Bernard. This led to a Jerran Foster jumper from the corner, making it a 61-64 game with 1:11 remaining. Foster himself had a good night, finishing with 12 points, going 4-5 from the arch.
With Coppin State never relenting, the Eagles had four guys finish with at least 12 points. Trevon Seymore ended the game with 15 points, eight assists and had two steals both coming late in the second half.
FAMU had the game within reach, trailing by two, but was not able get over the hump.
“Congrats to Coppin State for a hard fought victory. We didn’t deserve to win,” Samuels said, “Even if we came back and tied it and won, I still would’ve felt the same way, that we didn’t deserve to win.”
In the end, it came down to the Rattlers not being able to convert from the line. FAMU finished the game 8-21, 38%.
Samuels agreed that the Rattlers poor free throw shooting affected the game.
“Free throws are a big part of this loss. If we’re 12 of 21, we tie, or 13 of 21, we win.
The consensus among Coach Samuels and his players was that, in the end, Coppin State just wanted it more. The Rattlers were not hungry enough. Despite being a hard game to drop at home, the team felt that this loss would act as motivation for future games.
“We just didn’t want it the most. I agree with coach. We didn’t show the maturity to win. They wanted it more,” Bernard commented.
The Rattlers return to action this Saturday at 4 P.M at Howard University.
