The Rattlers (10-22) defeated the No. 3 seed Delaware State Hornets (15-14) in overtime to advance to the semifinal round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) basketball tournament.FAMU entered the championship competition at the No. 11 seed and knocked off the No. 4 seed Coppin State earlier this week.
Head Coach Clemon Johnson was happy about the victory, but more excited that the Rattlers have learned to depend on one another.
"It was a very exciting game," Johnson said. "At this stage, any game you can win is a great game. I'm honored to be here and honored to still be playing. No one expected us to be here. We gave away three at the house to end the season, but now we're on the road and thanks to our Lord and savior and the teammates, they've come together as a team," Johnson said.
The Rattlers were led by Amin Stevens who went 7-of-16 to score 16 points. He added eight rebounds on the night to tie Yannick Crowder, who also grabbed eight. Crowder also five blocked shots, which deterred the Hornets from driving inside and forced them to play an outside game.
The Rattlers will face the No. 2 seed Norfolk State Spartans in the semifinal round tonight at 8 p.m.