The No.2 seed Norfolk State Spartans defeated the Rattlers 58-46 in the semifinal round of the 2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament.Coach Clemon Johnson's team performed much better than anybody expected, and went farther than any Rattler basketball team has since the 2007 team won the MEAC title. "We had a good game plan and a great scouting report. We were able to contain the player of the year, it's just that other people were able to get to the basket and we just came up short," Johnson said.
Amin Stevens was the game’s high scorer with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-3 from the three-point arc. He also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. He was the only Rattler to score in double figures as eight other Rattlers were able to score. As a team, the Rattlers committed 19 turnovers.
MEAC Player of the Year, Kyle O'Quinn, scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to lead the Spartans. He had to earn every point as FAMU's Yannick Crowder blocked five shots, including a couple from O'Quinn. Crowder dedicated his game to preventing O'Quinn from taking over the game and the plan had considerable success. The pressure from the duo of Crowder and Nate Drayton forced him to be a facilitator of the ball as there was virtually no place to go inside.