The FAMU Rattlers mens basketball team traveled to Alabama A&M with hopes of climbing the SWAC standings, but they left humbled by a familiar foe in basketball: the shooting slump.
In a game defined by one staggering stretch of offensive futility, the Rattlers (8-11, 5-3 SWAC) fell 72-65 to the Bulldogs (12-9, 5-3 SWAC) on Saturday, a loss that exposed their vulnerabilities at the worst possible time.
From the opening tip, it was clear this would be a struggle. AAAMU’s pressure defense swarmed the Rattlers, forcing rushed shots and live-ball turnovers that fueled a devastating early run. Before the first media timeout could even settle the visitors, the Bulldogs had built a commanding 21-5 lead, silencing the FAMU bench and energizing a rowdy home crowd at the AAMU Events Center.
But the true story of the game unfolded over an agonizing 16-minute stretch where the rim seemed to shrink for the Rattlers. After a Jordan Chatman jumper made it 21-7, FAMU would not make another field goal for the remainder of the first half.
“You just have to fight through it,” a somber Antonio Baker said afterward. “They were aggressive, we were stagnant. We got the looks we wanted, but they just weren’t falling.”
Miraculously, the Rattlers stayed alive. While jumpers rattled out and layups rolled off, they found a lifeline at the free-throw line. Shooting a near-perfect 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, they chipped away at the deficit, playing enough defense to crawl back into the game. They entered halftime down just six, 26-20, a minor miracle given the statistical nightmare.
“We survived the storm,” Head Coach Charlie Ward would later say. “But you can’t win on the road shooting like that. We left everything we had at the free-throw line just to stay in it.”
The second half offered brief hope. Baker, who finished with a team-high 16 points, finally broke the field goal drought with a driving layup, sparking a 7-0 run that brought FAMU within a single possession. But just as quickly as momentum swung, the Bulldogs snatched it back. Their transition offense, led by swift guards attacking the seams, answered every Rattler push with a bucket of their own, stretching the lead back to double digits and never truly letting FAMU threaten down the stretch.
Chatman added 14 points for the Rattlers, who finished the game shooting a frigid 39.2% from the field. The Bulldogs, by contrast, feasted in the paint and on the break, their aggressive style ultimately proving too much to overcome.
The loss halts FAMU’s recent momentum in conference play and serves as a stark reminder that in the grind of the SWAC schedule, no lead is safe—and no shooting slump can last forever, even when it feels like it might. The Rattlers will look to regroup quickly, as the Rattlers travel to Montgomery to taken on the Hornets of Alabama State on Monday night.