Desmond Williams, put on one of his most impressive displays
to date, scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from
the free throw line. Marcus Barham
scored 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, while Justin Ravenel
scored 12 points on efficient 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Two of Ravenel’s baskets were three-pointers,
while Barham chipped in one.
One defining factor in the game was three-point shooting. SCSU guard Edward Stephens lit up the board, with six three-pointers in 11 tries, ending with a game high 24 points. Greg Mortimer went 4-of-5 from three-point range, ending his day with 20 points. As a team, the Bulldogs shot .500 from the arc (13-of-26), closing the gap whenever the Rattlers would take a lead or keeping just out of reach of FAMU.
Head Coach Byron Samuels was the first FAMU men’s basketball
coach to return the Rattlers to the MEAC tournament since Clemon Johnson led
the Rattlers in the 2013-14 campaign, due to NCAA stipulations. With that fully behind the team, it was not
the experience the team had envisioned.
Still, they were honored with the opportunity to participate in what
college basketball players dream about…the chance to “dance” in the annual NCAA
basketball tournament.
“Our game plan was to protect the paint. We did that.
But, when they kicked out, they got into a rhythm shooting the
basketball early and that rhythm didn’t stop,” Samuels said.
Being back in the mix with a shot at the championship was
not lost on the players. “We’ve been
talking about the little things all year.
We’’ve been losing by this margin all year. That’s the kind of things we’ve got to clean
up this off-season. I went to JuCo for
two years and I’ve been waiting to get here (MEAC Tournament) and get to this
moment. I am glad that I got here and
had this experience with this team,” junior Derrick Dandridge said.
Williams echoed those sentiments. When asked if he took pride in leading the
team in points, Williams said, “I really don't know how to answer that
question. I would rather have two points
and a win than 23 points and a loss; so to me it’s pointless. It obviously wasn’t enough. It’s an honor and a great experience to be in
the MEAC Tournament and being able to compete for a championship. This is my first time being here and I
enjoyed the experience. I wish it would
have ended better.”
This concludes the 2016-17 campaign for the Rattlers, but as
Samuels explains, this team has an opportunity in front of it. “I like my group. The majority of the second half, I’m playing
two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior.
Sometimes it was two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen and those
guys battled. I felt we were going to
win tonight. We were right there in
position. They made 13 threes tonight,
at their place they only made three.
They shot the ball extremely well tonight,” Samuels concluded.